By: The Guardian
Nov 13, 2019
The top 1% of earners in the UK now account for more than a third of income tax paid to the government, following changes over the past decade that have left almost half the population exempt from making payments.
In research underlining the dual nature of Britain’s income tax structure, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said above-inflation increases in the personal allowance to £12,500 a year meant 42% of adults paid no income tax.
The thinktank said the top 1% of all adults accounted for well over a third of income tax, adding that the tax and benefit system was progressive.
Meanwhile, the share of income tax paid by the top 1% of taxpayers – a smaller slice of the population because so many people pay no income tax – has risen from 24% of the total in 2007-08 on the eve of the financial crisis to 30% currently.