Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/300414 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
IFS Report No. R321
Publisher: 
Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), London
Abstract: 
This report gives a high-level overview of tax policy across the period 2010 to 2024. An appendix summarises the main tax policy changes. There are some clear distinctions between the governments before 2019 (including the coalition government of 2010-15) and the governments from 2019. Most notably, tax revenue as a share of national income was remarkably stable until 2019 but has increased sharply since and is now higher than at any point since 1948. There were also big swings in the direction of some major policies. The income tax personal allowance was increased for years before 2019 but is now on a declining path. The main rate of corporation tax was cut substantially until 2017 and then increased sharply in 2023. Rates of National Insurance contributions (NICs) continued their long-run upward trend until recently but have now been sharply reduced. But there are also some common themes across the 14-year period. Overall, there has been a common trend towards increasing direct taxes on high-income individuals, while cutting them on low and middle earners. In fact, remarkably, despite the overall tax burden reaching historical highs, income tax and employee NICs now take a smaller fraction of the earnings of a single full-time median earner with no children than at any time for almost 50 years. Tax policy has been changed such that we are raising less on average earnings but more from higher earners, more from other taxes, and more overall.
Subjects: 
Taxes and benefits
Income taxes
Tax
Tax administration
Taxes on wealth and spending
VAT
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-1-80103-191-2
Document Type: 
Research Report

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