UK’s top 100 earners paid £39 million each in income and capital gains and these geese are hissing – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

The top 100 taxpayers in the UK collectively paid a staggering £3.9 billion of income and capital gains tax in 2022/23, the equivalent of £39 million each.

Meanwhile, the UK’s top 1,000 taxpayers footed an average tax bill of £10.4 million each, and paid more than 4% of HMRC’s annual tab.

This is according to a new Freedom of Information Request made by Wealth Club to HMRC in September 2024.

The data also shows that Britain’s top 10,000 taxpayers footed an average tax bill of £2.5 million each in 2022/23 from income and capital gains tax which means that collectively they paid nearly a tenth of HMRC’s annual tab, despite accounting for just 0.03% of UK taxpayers.

Alex Davies, founder of high-net-worth investment service Wealth Club, said, “Louis XIV’s finance minister famously declared that ‘the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.’

“Nothing much has changed in the last 400 years, taxation is still about raising the revenue you need with the smallest amount of economic and political damage.

“The Autumn Budget is just over a week away and the Chancellor has stated repeatedly that those with the broadest shoulders should carry the biggest tax burden, but these numbers demonstrate just how reliant the tax system already is on a very small number of individuals.

“But the ultra-wealthy are a mobile bunch, proven by the fact that an estimated 9,500 millionaires are expected to leave the UK this year. If just the top 100 taxpayers decided to move overseas that would rise to £3.9bn less revenue for HMRC, and if the top 1,000 taxpayers migrated out of the UK, that figure would rise to £10.4 billion less in receipts.

“That’s not just this current tax year, but also each subsequent year, leaving huge holes in the country’s finances and draining the economy of the entrepreneurs and investors who start and support young businesses.

“This is doubly concerning when the UK already has an image problem. Even before the last election wealthy investors thought the country was an unappealing place to start a business, with a culture that’s unsupportive of wealth creators and high levels of taxation.

“Changing this group’s perception of the UK and getting the balance right, should be a key goal for the Chancellor. The message is clear for politicians when deciding future tax policy – tread very carefully or the geese may take flight.”