Top one per cent of British earners attribute for almost a quarter of income tax in fiscal yaer 2008-2009, and top 10% pay more than half of the entire pot.
City A.M. editor Allister Heath writes that the top 10% of earners are already set to pay 53.6% of income tax in 2008-09.
The top five per cent will pay 43 per cent and the top one per cent 23.9 per cent,” he writes. “Yes, that’s right, …

Fears are growing that 70,000 more Britons face paying the top rate of income tax under plans from Chancellor Alistair Darling, the Daily Mail reports.
Darling will trigger the increase by freezing personal allowances for taxpayers in his Pre-Budget Report on Wednesday, accountants say. It is also thought that the threshold for higher-rate income tax will be held at the current level.
Although ministers may justify the freeze by citing falling inflation, the plans mean those workers …

Scotland is to be handed sweeping new powers from the Government in its biggest power grab since devolution ten years ago, including powers to cut income tax, the Daily Mail reports.
Nationalist ministers will be able to set drink-drive and speed limits, air gun controls as well as controversially having an unprecedented control of taxation – including stamp duty.
Holyrood will seize a 10% share of all income tax raised in Scotland – being allowed to raise …

The Government could have to put seven per cent on the basic rate of income tax as part of their efforts to rein in Britain’s spiraling debts, the Daily Mail reports.
Researchers warned that debt could reach 93 per cent of national income by 2015, leaving a burden for our descendants if it is not reduced. Spending cuts alone may not be enough to deal with a structural deficit running at 6 per cent of GDP each …

Conservative leader David Cameron has hinted that he is prepared to reverse the 50% tax rate that Labour plan to introduce for higher earners, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Cameron has been unable to commit his party to reversing the policy, announced in the Budget, despite criticism from some Tories and among its traditional support. He has said that while he is unhappy with the rise it would not be a priority to change it. A planned rise …

A major political row has broken out after the Tories seized on Treasury documents to claim that Labour were planning a bombshell rise in income tax of three per cent if they won the next general election, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The Treasury figures — marked “confidential” — disclosed a big rise in projected income tax receipts between now and 2011-12, as well as in subsequent years. They led the Tories to accuse ministers of “factoring …

In America, the top one percent of taxpayers pay more income tax than the bottom 95%, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data reveals.
The IRS data shows that in 2007 — the most recent data available — the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 40.4 percent of the total income taxes collected by the federal government, the Tax Foundation report.
By contrast, the top 1 percent paid 24.8 percent of the income tax burden in 1987, the …

According to a new study by the Taxpayers’ Alliance, the new 50p tax rate will stifle the economy and increase unemployment, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The report calls for the upper tax limit on high earners – being introduced next April – to be abandoned, saying it would discourage entrepreneurs from starting up a business and result in fewer jobs. It comes after the level of unemployment reaches 2.38 million, with economists suggesting it will hit the …

70% of Britons say they did not tihnk the amount of taxes they paid was reflected in the services they received, according to Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Only 15% said they would be prepared to pay more money to get better services, Ananova reports.
The most unpopular tax, according to the survey, was, naturally, council tax. 40% of the people polled said that it was the tax they most resented paying.
Well, of course taxes in …

In last poll I asked my readers if they regard flat rate or progressive as the fairest income tax system.
I’m happy to say that overwhelming majority of 390 regards flat rate as the fairest system, and only 170 people think progressive system is fairest.
New poll is up now.

Israel’s next Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will cut taxes right after he takes office (which will happen in matter of weeks now, depending on how long will it take to agree on a coalition).
Netanyahu plans to initially cut income tax rates for low and medium income earners in an effort to counter the deepening economic downturn, and later reduce the income tax for small and medium-sized businesses.
The Likud chairman also plans to continue …

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has come up with an ingenious little plan to raise taxes again, in order to cover for the totally useless VAT cut he made happen in December. Turns out that Gordon wants to introduce a new 45 percent top rate of income tax from 2011, instead of present 40%.
It’s a terribly nice present for hard working families – punish them for being successful. And the cause is even nicer: to gain …

If everything goes according to the polls, the next UK Government will be a Conservative one, and the Tories are planning to introduce tax cuts that this economy desperately needs:
A future Tory government would aim to reduce National Insurance, income tax on savings and the tax burden on the over-65s, George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, will say.
Tax burden in UK is incredibly high compared to many other European countries, even despite of the recent VAT …