The UK’s biggest listed companies generated £77.1bn in tax during the pandemic-hit 2020/21 financial year, while the average tax rate was 54% when employment taxes are factored in, finds PwC analysis
The total tax contribution was down from last year’s high of £84bn, with tax revenue slashed by 7.8% on the previous year, as companies faced hits to profitability due to the pandemic.
In total these companies paid £6.3bn in corporation tax, representing 27% of total taxes paid, up from 25.5% in 2019/20, but this year’s figure was down on the previous year due to the pandemic hit on profitability. However, this was down by 6% on the previous year.
Employment taxes, at 31.1%, were the largest share of taxes collected, and consisted of income tax deducted under PAYE accounting for 23.4% and employee NIC accounting for 7.7%. This amounted to £52.4bn in taxes collected for the year ended 31 March 2021.
