The takings for national insurance have risen to the ‘highest levels on record’ with NIC tax take hitting £157bn over the last 12 months. Compared to the 2020-21 tax year, the tax authority collected £144bn worth of national insurance.

The most recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) data revealed that the gap between the UK’s revenues and its spending stood at £151.8bn in the 12 months to March, down from £317.6bn in the previous year.

Overall tax receipts for April 2021 to March 2022 reached £718.2bn which is £133.8bn higher than the same period a year earlier and £58.9bn more than what was raised for the April 2021 to February 2022 period. Last year, HMRC collected £584.4bn and the year before the tax authority collected £634bn.

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