22 July 2025
If you are covering the latest HMRC tax receipts and national insurance contributions data, please see the following comment from Shaun Moore, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter:
“The latest HMRC tax take data lays bare the impact of the government’s stealth tax strategy – and while it is lucrative in some areas, it is far from universally effective.
“PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions for April to June 2025 hit £120.8 billion, up £9.6 billion year-on-year. With income tax thresholds frozen, workers are seeing more of their earnings swallowed by the tax system. Meanwhile, higher employer NICs signal a clear shift in the burden toward businesses.
“But not all tax changes have delivered. The government’s decision to slash Capital Gains Tax (CGT) allowances and hike rates has backfired. CGT receipts have fallen sharply – from nearly £17 billion in 2022-23 to £14.5 billion in 2023-24, and now to just £13.1 billion in 2024-25. What’s more, in the first six months of the year, CGT has raked in £11.8 billion, compared to £13.5 billion during the same period last year. The policy may have been designed to raise revenue, but it’s instead prompted behavioural shifts that have dented the tax take.
“This is particularly relevant amid renewed speculation about a ‘wealth tax’. While taxing the wealthiest may sound politically appealing, the CGT experience shows that people will change behaviour or adjust their financial plans to mitigate the tax bills. A wealth tax could accelerate the exodus triggered by the abolition of non-dom status – undermining the very revenue it aims to raise.
“Inheritance Tax (IHT) receipts, meanwhile, continue to climb. Between April and June 2025, IHT brought in £2.2 billion – £0.1 billion more than the same period last year. With nil-rate bands frozen until 2030 and property prices still elevated, more families are being caught in the IHT net, often without any deliberate wealth accumulation”
