Tax take bounces back in June

The Governments’ latest tax statistics to June 2020 show that after falls in April and May, tax revenues have almost recovered to “normal levels” for most taxes.

According to tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg, the total tax receipts for June were down only 15% on June 2019, compared to around 43% for April and May

Robert Pullen, a partner at the firm, said this was a “significant improvement and a step in the right direction”.

Pullen added that the biggest bounce-back to “normal” was income tax receipts, which were “only” £200m lower than last year’s June figure. This can be seen in an uptick in PAYE and NIC receipts, and could be a “direct reflection of the chancellor’s focus on job retention”.

Pullen said: “ VAT continues to be struggling, but this is a misleading statistic due to the VAT deferral mechanism introduced earlier this year, which applies up to the end of June.

“Property transactions remain subdued, at less than half the activity seen in June 2019 – the SDLT holiday announced recently may see an increase to the property transactions taking place, but the effect on overall SDLT is yet to be understood.”

He added: “A grim statistic shows that inheritance tax paid in June has increased by over 65% since March and is now in line with June 2017. It remains to be seen if this is a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Overall the tax take is still down by 7% on last year but given what everybody has been through this is not surprising.”