50 per cent taxpayers 'account for third of income tax'

 
Around a third of all income tax is paid for by individuals who fall into the 50 per cent tax bracket, recent analysis has suggested. Oriel Securities, a stockbroking firm, assessed the official figures from the Office for National Statistics and found that tax contributed by the 300,000 highest earners in the UK s now the equivalent of a third of the bill for the entire welfare system. Indeed, this band of society paid over £47 billion in income tax last year, putting some doubt on the argument that the 50 per cent tax bracket is not enough. Michael Portillo, the former Conservative defence secretary, told the Telegraph that the research had taken him by surprise: “The tax system is more progressive than I had imagined. The proportion paid by the top one per cent has increased radically since 2000. I think people might be quite surprised to find out that out system is a pretty progressive one.” The research follows news from the Organisation for Economic Development, which has warned that personal income tax is the second most harmful type of tax for growth, following corporation tax. This could caution the government in considering any further increases in taxes and may even prompt a reduction in the top 50 per cent tax.

http://www.50percenttax.co.uk/index/2012/2/28/50-per-cent-taxpayers-account-for-third-of-income-tax.html