Income Tax for employed staff in the UK is deducted directly from salary. This is known as Pay as you Earn, usually refereed to as PAYE.

Higher rate taxpayers and those in regular receipt of expenses over and above their salaries are required to submit a tax return once a year. If this is required the relevant form will be sent to you in the May or June of the year following the tax year for which it relates (the tax year in the UK runs from April to March)

Everybody in the UK receives a personal allowance on which they pay no tax. As well as Income Tax you will pay National Insurance Contributions.
Please consult http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/pdfs/irinsert.htm for rates and thresholds.

Value Added Tax (VAT) is 17.5%. There are a few categories of goods which are exempt from VAT.

Concise information on most aspects of taxation and National Insurance are available on the Inland Revenue’s web site: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk.

This site also has a number of leaflets that can be downloaded, only available in English.