interactive investor comments on latest HMRC tax receipts data

Taxman secures a bumper haul in the first half of the financial year.

• Total HMRC receipts for April 2021 to October 2021 are £392.0 billion, which is £99.8 billion higher than in the same period a year earlier.
• Inheritance Tax (IHT) - receipts for April 2021 to October 2021 are £3.6 billion, which is £0.6 billion higher than in the same period a year earlier.
• Stamp Taxes and Annual Tax Enveloped Dwellings - Overall receipts for April 2021 to October 2021 are £10.2 billion, which is £4.1 billion higher than in the same period a year earlier.
• Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax & National Insurance Contributions, & Apprenticeship Levy - Total receipts for April 2021 to October 2021 are £210.4 billion, which is £31.1 billion higher than in the same period a year earlier.

Commenting, Myron Jobson, Personal Finance Campaigner, interactive investor, says: “The taxman secured a bumper haul in the first half of the financial year – but the figures are heavily distorted by the pandemic, as much of the economy ground to a halt last year because of Covid-19 restrictions.

“The increase in the government’s IHT takings feels unsavoury in the context of the pandemic, and the freezing of the nil rate and residence nil rate bands until at least April 2026 means those bills look likely to keep rising, and increasingly feel like a raid on hard-working families (who have already been taxed at the point of earnings), rather than the very wealthy it was originally targeted at.

“Stamp duty continues to be a lucrative source of income for the taxman. The impact of the stamp duty holiday has been immense, pushing up the average house price to a record high of £270,000. Property transactions have gone through the roof as buyers rushed to get purchases through ahead of the stamp duty holiday deadline at the end of September, after being phased out over the summer. Even in the absence of the stamp-duty holiday carrot, there is still a healthy demand for property.”