Britain's high-earners pay the brunt of UK tax

HMRC

According to new figures it appears that the top one percent of UK earners will together contribute a 25 percent of HMRC's tax revenue.

This shows that the taxation against high-earning individuals has increased dramatically over time. In 1978 the top one percent contributed just 11 percent of all tax revenue, a considerable amount less than what HMRC rakes in now.

One of the main reasons for this must be the 50 percent top rate that was introduced last year. This increase has the dubious honour of being the highest tax rate since 1988. It is suspected that the total amount of tax high-earners will supply is close £41.4 billion pounds which is actually just over 25 percent.

However with such high rates of tax the Government is worried that more and more people will choose to become expatriates to avoid paying such extreme rates of tax.

Tax Policy Director of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, John Whiting, said: “The rich are getting proportionately richer, and therefore are paying more tax. In a curious way it demonstrates what a contribution they make. It is well worth the country attempting to keep them here. In trading terms, they make a considerable profit for the taxman.”