During the last ten years the legislation governing taxation has changed at an ever-increasing rate until the present situation is one in which an actuary requires to be familiar with some part of every Finance Act. The paper describes and comments upon the tax legislation and cases in this period likely to be of interest to an actuary in the various functions in which he acts, including that of employer and personal taxpayer.

The paper considers the effect on actuarial calculations of recent legislation and in particular gives an example of the type of analysis which may be undertaken prior to fixing premium rates for a proprietary office, including consideration of the distorting effect of apportionment of interest by mean funds. The author gives his opinions on the effect of capital transfer tax on reversionary business.

Finally there is a section briefly describing the recent new taxes on development gains, value added, and capital transfers, including reference to the position of trust policies under Scots law.