Purchase tax - Wikipedia Purchase tax Purchase Tax was a tax on ' luxury ' goods sold in the UK from 1940 until 1973. On 21 October 1940, during World War II, Purchase Tax was introduced at a rate of 33 ⁄ % as a tax on sales of `` luxury '' goods in order to reduce the deemed wastage of raw materials. At various times the tax was set at different rates depending the government - determined degree of `` luxury '' of the item. In preparation for joining the European Economic Community ( EU ) on 2 April 1973 Purchase Tax was abolished and replaced by Value Added Tax ( VAT ) at a rate of 10 %, shortly to be lowered to 8 %. References ^ Jump up to : `` Taxation -- Key dates ''. Parliament.UK. Retrieved 24 December 2014. Jump up ^ `` Purchase Tax ''. Peterice. Retrieved 24 December 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` VAT : a brief history of tax ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 24 December 2014. Jump up ^ `` Post-war taxation ''. Parliament.UK. Retrieved 25 December 2014. External links Tax rates on gramophone records This tax - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Purchase_Tax&oldid=755090639 '' Categories : History of taxation in the United Kingdom Sales taxes Tax stubs Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 16 December 2016, at 04 : 40. About Wikipedia

Question: when was purchase tax introduced in the uk
Answer: 1940