[identity profile] danieldwilliam.livejournal.com 2012-02-10 09:09 am (UTC)(link)
A way round the issue of lumpy pay for artistic or scientific output might be base income tax on life time average earnings.
chess: (Default)

[personal profile] chess 2012-02-11 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
That sounds very difficult to calculate...

[identity profile] danieldwilliam.livejournal.com 2012-02-13 09:45 am (UTC)(link)
More difficult than annual assessments but I don’t think it’s any more complex than adding up your current income and then adding it to a running total.

The tax authorities already hold data for 7 years. Instead of lifetime averages we could the average of the last 5 or 10 years. We’re already treating about that amount of time as live for tax assessment purposes.

Or we could have a floor for more complex tax arrangments. If someone’s income was over £100k or £250k or £1m then they are subject to longer term averaging.