While most of us get our heads down and concentrate on keeping existing clients happy and building our books, it appears that HM revenue have been busily ensuring that more of the workforce are paying higher rates of tax.
Or not paying tax at all. Data released earlier this week shows that while more workers will be in the higher 40% and 45% tax brackets, over a million fewer will pay any tax than when the coalition government came to power. In the 2010-11 tax year 31.3 million paid tax – this year that number is 30.1 million.
Forecasts put tax receipts for this next financial year at around £6,000 per person (a total of £182 billion) - what actually happens though is that top tax payers will obviously pay the lion’s share of the tax receipts. According to the Financial Times, If you earn over £54,300 you’re in the top 10% of income tax payers. (the 23 million adults who don’t pay any income tax are not included in these figures)
That 10% receive a third of the total income earned by tax payers – but cover almost 60% of the nation’s income tax bill. And if you’re over 65, then more of your age group are paying tax while fewer of those younger than you are doing so. In 2010-11 4.9 million over 65s were paying tax – this year it’s 5.9 million. Under 65 figures for the same period show the reverse – 26.4 million income tax payers have dwindled to 24.1 million.
