Selective Employment Tax (SET) was a weekly

payroll tax Payroll taxes are taxes imposed on employers or employees, and are usually calculated as a percentage of the salaries that employers pay their employees. By law, some payroll taxes are the responsibility of the employee and others fall on the em ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was levied against employers at a flat rate of per man, and per woman. SET was intended to subsidise manufacturing industry from the proceeds of the services industries, to help exports. At the end of each accounting period, manufacturing companies would have their SET payments refunded, along with a 7s 6d bounty or premium per employee (SEP). The premium was withdrawn outside assisted areas (United Kingdom) in 1967, while a ''Regional Employment Premium'' was introduced payable at fixed amounts for employees still eligible for SEP. SET was designed to be a tax on those companies that did not boost UK exports. High-street bookmakers used the introduction of this tax as a reason to reduce the payout on some each-way bets (where a horse is placed in the first two or three, depending on the number of runners) from a quarter the odds to a fifth the odds. However, the previous, larger payouts were never restored when the tax ended. This tax was introduced during the first Wilson ministry in 1966, by means of the Selective Employment Payments Act 1966. It was dropped in favour of the introduction of VAT by the

Heath ministry Edward Heath of the Conservative Party formed the Heath ministry and was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II on 19 June 1970, following the 18 June general election. Heath's ministry ended after the February ...

of 1970–1974. Regional Employment Premiums were withdrawn as part of the response to the

1976 sterling crisis The 1976 sterling crisis was a currency crisis in the United Kingdom. Inflation (at close to 25% in 1975, causing high bond yields and borrowing costs), a balance of payments deficit, a public spending deficit, and the 1973 oil crisis were co ...

.The Regional Employment Premiums (Termination of Payment and Consequential Provisions) Order 1976
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References

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External links

Selective Employment Payments Act 1966
Taxation in the United Kingdom 1966 establishments in the United Kingdom Manufacturing in the United Kingdom