HMRC raises £48bn from new taxes introduced over past 10 years

HMRC has raised £48bn from eight new taxes that the UK government has introduced over the last decade, according to research by UHY Hacker Young. 

The firm has said the the highest yielding tax that has been introduced is the Bank Levy, a tax on UK banks requiring them to pay above the normal corporation tax, which generated £24.1bn since it was introduced in 2016.

In addition, the Apprenticeship Levy, which was created to fund new and existing apprenticeships, generated £9.7bn since it was introduced in 2017. 

Finally, the Bank Surcharge, which adds an additional 8% tax on UK banks profits, has generated £7.6bn since it was brought into practice in 2016. 

Despite the increase in returns, the new taxes brought in by successive governments since 2010 do not reflect the “governments aim to simplify the UK tax system”.

UHY Hacker Young said the UK already has “one of the most complex tax systems in the world” with a tax code almost 17,000 pages long. In comparison, Hong Kong, which has one of the simplest tax systems in the world, has a code with fewer than 300 pages.

Sean Glancy, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said: “These new taxes have been a significant burden on businesses, not just in pure financial terms, but in terms of the extra red tape that they have heaped on UK PLC.

“As the current government looks at how it can pay for the cost of Covid-19, it needs to avoid the temptation of introducing new taxes.”

He added: “Every new tax that the government introduces makes the tax system even more complex and overwhelming for the average business and individual.”