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The towns that pay the most income tax
The average UK resident pays £4,398 in income tax per year.
But a new report from accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young has revealed that some taxpayers have paid almost four times more, while others have paid much less.
The research put together using the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) and HMRC data for the tax year 2010/2011 (the most recent stats available) also revealed an even wider gap between the total income tax brought in by towns and cities.
Towns and cities with the highest income tax bills
Here are the ten towns and cities that had the highest average income tax bills per taxpayer for 2010/2011.
Position | Town/city | Average income tax paid per taxpayer 2010/2011 |
1 | Elmbridge | £16,100 |
2 | St Albans | £10,900 |
3 | Windsor and Maidenhead | £10,200 |
4 | Guildford | £9,830 |
5 | London | £8,580 |
6 | Wokingham | £7,490 |
7 | Dacorum | £7,490 |
8 | Reigate and Banstead | £7,000 |
9 | Tonbridge and Malling | £7,000 |
10 | Wycombe | £6,820 |
Wealthy residents of Elmbridge in Surrey paid an average of £11,702 per head more than the UK average.
Surrey, apparently known locally as the ‘Beverly Hills of Britain’, is home to a whole host of rich and famous individuals who are likely to account for the larger than average income tax collected.
Notable residents have included singer Sir Elton John, tennis star Andy Murray, Formula One driver Jenson Button and ex-Beatle Ringo Starr.
The top income tax-paying areas are all located in the South East, particularly in the commuter belt and leafy suburbs around London.
Outside of the South East the biggest average taxpayer contribution came from Stratford-upon-Avon (11th), while the first Northern town to appear is Harrogate in 15th place.
Aberdeen (17th) is the first Scottish town to feature on the list of 100. Residents here saw the fastest growth in their income tax bill over the last five years, fuelled by the growth of the local oil and gas industry.
Towns that contribute the most income tax
Here are the ten towns and cities that paid the most income tax.
Position | Town/city | Total income tax paid 2010/2011 |
1 | London | £33.7 billion |
2 | Greater Manchester | £4.41 billion |
3 | Merseyside | £2.19 billion |
4 | Leeds | £1.49 billion |
5 | Edinburgh | £1.45 billion |
6 | Birmingham | £1.43 billion |
7 | Elmbridge | £1.18 billion |
8 | Glasgow | £898 million |
9 | St. Albans | £846 million |
10 | Bristol | £843 million |
In total Elmbridge’s 130,000 residents paid £1.18 billion to the Exchequer, which makes the tiny area the 7th biggest contributor of income tax revenue in 2010/2011. The town came ahead of big city Glasgow (£898 million), St Albans (£846 million) and Bristol (£843 million).
The top income tax contributor overall for 2010/2011 was, unsurprisingly, London, which handed over £33.7 billion to the pot, much more than the rest of the top ten combined, highlighting the huge contribution made by the capital to the wider British economy.
The next biggest contributor was Greater Manchester (£4.41 billion) followed by Merseyside (£2.19 billion), Leeds (£1.49 billion), Edinburgh (£1.45 billion) and Birmingham (£1.43 billion).
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Towns with the smallest income tax bills
Here are the ten towns that had the smallest average income tax bills in 2010/2011.
Position | Town/city | Average income tax bill per taxpayer 2010/2011 |
100 | Blackpool | £2,490 |
99 | Stoke-on-Trent | £2,560 |
98 | Kingston-upon-Hull | £2,560 |
97 | Sandwell | £2,580 |
96 | Leicester | £2,740 |
95 | Torbay | £2,780 |
94 | Caerphilly | £2,820 |
93 | Wolverhampton | £2,890 |
92 | Barnsley | £2,920 |
91 | Sunderland | £2,920 |
Out of 100 cities and towns, residents of Blackpool paid £1,908 less than the average income tax bill for an individual in the UK and £13,610 less than residents of Elmbridge in Surrey.
None of the areas with the lowest income tax bills are in the South East.
Mark Giddens, Head of Private Client Services at UHY Hacker Young, blames the gap on the cultural, political and financial pull of the South East. He said: “Governments have attempted to boost the attractiveness of other regions in the UK to top earners, even encouraging some public sector organisations to relocate to different parts of the UK. However, the pull of the South East culturally, politically, and financially is still very strong for the highest earners.”
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Towns that contribute the least income tax
Here are the top ten towns and cities that paid the least income tax in 2010/2011.
Position | Town/city | Total income tax paid 2010/2011 |
1 | Blackpool | £159 million |
2 | Torbay | £178 million |
3 | Neath Port Talbot | £198 million |
4 | Dundee City | £200 million |
5 | Preston | £209 million |
6 | Lancaster | £212 million |
7 | Wrexham | £218 million |
8 | Isle of Wight | £219 million |
9 | Bridgend | £220 million |
10 | Ipswich | £225 million |
Blackpool also tops the list as the smallest contributor of income tax to the UK pot, only putting in £159 million over 2010/2011. That's less than 1% of London's contribution.
The combined contribution total from the bottom ten amounts to just over £2 billion, nearly £32 billion short of what London brought in over the same year.
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