Chancellor George Osborne has revealed that he was "shocked" to discover that by using loopholes some multi-millionaires pay little or no income tax.
On average, rich people studied by HM Revenue and Customs have managed to limit their income tax to 10 percent -- less that half the rate paid by ordinary workers -- according to a report which Osborne ordered.
"I was shocked to see that some of the very wealthiest people in the country have organised their tax affairs, and to be fair it?s within the tax laws, so that they were regularly paying virtually no income tax. And I don?t think that?s right," the Chancellor told the Daily Telegraph.
?I?m talking about people right at the top. I?m talking about people with incomes of many millions of pounds a year. The general principle is that people should pay income tax and that includes people with the highest incomes."
Osborne personally studied the ?anonymised? copies of tax returns submitted by some of Britain's wealthiest people, the paper said.
He wants millionaires to pay tax of over a third of their earnings, it added.
The HMRC study reportedly found that Britain?s 20 biggest tax avoiders have used three main loopholes to legally reduce their income tax bills by a total of £145 million in a year.
Osborne has sparked controversy with a proposal to limit the tax relief that any individual can claim to 25 percent of their income or £50,000 ? whichever is greater -- from next year.
Charities fear the new ceiling may hit philanthropic giving and and reduce the size of donations they receive.
Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
