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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. 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 The premium was withdrawn outside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) Assisted areas in the United Kingdom are those areas selected for the application of regional policy to support employment. They date back to depressed ''special areas'' identified before WWII for specific assistance. Over time the support system ...

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 An each-way bet is a wager offered by bookmakers consisting of two separate bets: a win bet and a place bet. For the win part of the bet to give a return, the selection must win, or finish first, in the event. For the place part of the bet to gi ...

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 First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

in 1966, by means of the Selective Employment Payments Act 1966. It was dropped in favour of the introduction of

VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

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 19 ...

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

{{reflist

External links

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