HM Treasury

HM Treasury
Chancellor of the Exchequer	John Smith
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	Ted Carney
Type	Government department
Minister	Chancellor of the Exchequer
Sets	Taxes, spending and the Budget
Collects taxes through	HM Revenue and Customs
Headquarters	1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ

His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury) is the government's economic and finance ministry. It controls public spending, sets tax policy and is responsible for the country's economic policy as a whole. It is led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

History

The Treasury is one of the oldest departments of state, with roots in the royal accounts of the twelfth century, when the King's revenues were counted on a chequered cloth, the "exchequer", from which the Chancellor takes the name. The Prime Minister is still formally its First Lord.

Role

Every department's budget is agreed with the Treasury, which makes it the most powerful department in Whitehall. Once a year the Chancellor presents the Budget, setting out taxes and spending for the year ahead.

In UKOGB the Budget sets the rates and thresholds of income tax, taken from every member's salary, and of investment tax on gains and income from investments. Because salaries are paid daily, one day counts as one tax year, and every threshold is a fixed share of its real-world equivalent. HM Revenue and Customs collects the taxes the Treasury sets.

Positions

In UKOGB HM Treasury is run by members who hold its posts on the website. Its head is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who can edit the organisation's page, appoint people to its other roles and speak for it in public. The current holders are shown in the box on this page and on the organisation's page on the website, and each post brings its own Discord roles and website permissions.

• Chancellor of the Exchequer (head)