Denise Coates, head of gambling empire Bet365, was Britain’s biggest taxpayer last year, according to the Sunday Times Tax List.
The Coates family paid an estimated £481.7m, topping the annual ranking of billionaires’ tax payments for the third consecutive year. While the family’s tax payment was down from £573m in 2020, it was still almost £200m more that paid by hedge fund manager Chris Rokos in second-place with a £300m payment to the exchequer.
The total tax paid by the top 50 taxpayers rose by £510m to £3.7bn up from £3.2bn the previous year. The minimum amount of tax paid needed to make the top 50 rose to £15.2m, up 16% on the previous year.
“This is a stronger Tax List than last year’s – which will be good news for the chancellor,” Robert Watts, compiler of the list, said. “The total take is up by more than £500m”
However, the IPPR thinktank, which is campaigning for a wealth tax, said the list provides “an insight into the UK’s broken tax system” which allows “the richest people in the country to pay little to no tax at all”.
“Only one…
