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Beschrijving
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Geschiedenis
Income tax was introduced into the United Kingdom by William Pitt the Younger under the Income Tax Act of 1799. The General Commissioners were appointed to implement the Act with sole authority to assess and collect income tax and hear appeals. Under the Finance Act 1946, General Commissioners shed their last remaining administrative responsibility and became purely judicial officers as adjudicators between the taxpayer and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (previously known as Inland Revenue). The jurisdiction of General Commissioners was contained in the Taxes Management Act 1970 as amended by subsequent Finance Acts.
The selection of General Commissioners at first was entrusted to the Grand Jurors of each county. From 1803 the General Commissioners were appointed directly by the Land Tax Commissioners. The Lord Chancellor took over responsibility for the appointment of General Commissioners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in 1960, when the provisions of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1958 came into force. The Scottish Ministers appointed General Commissioners in Scotland. As at 31 March 2009 there were some 1,500 General Commissioners in the UK sitting in around 350 Divisions, generally based upon the parish boundary system.
The General Commissioners of Income Tax was an independent tribunal appointed by the Lord Chancellor to hear appeals from taxpayers against Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. General Commissioners were a group of local people drawn from a range of backgrounds. They were recruited through a system of local Advisory Committees. Appeals were heard locally, usually by three General Commissioners, who were advised on the law by their clerk. The Special Commissioners of Income Tax was a separate tribunal of qualified lawyers who heard more complex cases.
The Tribunal called the General Commissioners of Income Tax was abolished on 1 April 2009, and its functions transferred into the Tax Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal established under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
Source: http://www.generalcommissioners.gov.uk/AboutUs/aboutUs.htm (accessed June 2009).