UK public finance data released this morning shows a sharp improvement compared to where the government’s finances were a year ago.

HMRC collected £226.3bn in tax between April to July 2021 which is £76bn higher than the same period last year although HMRC has stated that last year’s figures are not representative as they were heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year’s figures were affected mainly by the deferred payments under the VAT payment deferment policy.

The inheritance tax statistics showed that the government continues to collect more from the tax each year. Inheritance tax receipts for April to July 2021 sat at £2.1bn, £500m higher than the same period a year earlier. Inheritance tax is currently a hot topic as rumours continue to circulate as to whether the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak will consider changes to IHT in order to raise more funds after a turbulent 18 months.