More people in higher rate tax

Share of taxpayers in the highest income bands nearly doubles under the Tories

The share of taxpayers in the highest income bands has nearly doubled under the Conservatives, according to Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) figures. In 2023/24, 18% of income taxpayers are projected to pay either the higher or additional rate, up from 10.4% in 2010, the year the Tories were elected. There were 3.03m higher rate taxpayers and 236,000 additional rate taxpayers in 2010/11, representing 9.6% and 0.8% of the total number of income tax-payers respectively. These numbers are projected to rise to 5.6m (15.6%) and 862,000 (2.4%) in 2023/24. Income tax thresholds are set to stay frozen until 2027/28, dragging more taxpayers into higher brackets. The TaxPayers’ Alliance calculates that the number of people paying income tax has risen by 4.5m under the Conservatives, rising from 31m in 2010 to the current 35.5m.