LONDON: Esher has been revealed as the UK’s income tax hotspot.
According to a survey by chartered accountancy group UHY Hacker Young residents in the town are paying the highest income tax bills of any parliamentary constituency, up 8% this year.
It is being put down to its celebrity residents and its easy commuter routes to the capital.
Those living in Esher and Walton, home to Frank Lampard, Gary Lineker, Mick Hucknall and Chris Tarrant, paid the most income tax last year with bills averaging £16,900, up from £15,700 the year before. This is almost four times the national average of £4,363.
London as a whole comes in at number 22 in a Top 30 dominated by home-counties commuter-belt areas. The average annual income in Esher is £59,600, compared to an average UK gross annual salary of £27,200.
The area’s highly regarded The American School in England and other international colleges also attracts a large contingent of high earning US bankers, technology and media executives to Esher.
Its proximity to Heathrow Airport also makes the area popular with high earning expats and non-doms.
The other Top 5 highest income tax paying areas are: Chesham and Amersham, Windsor, Beaconsfield and Dorking & Leatherhead, also in Surrey.
All are within an hour’s commute of London.
Mark Giddens, Head of private client services in London, says:
“The combination of a relatively high density of high earning celebrities and easy transport links to the City of London for those working in financial services, mean that many parliamentary constituencies across the South East, and Esher in particular, are a real hotspot for the taxman.
“With the tax rate at 45% for the highest earners, pockets are clearly being created – mainly, but not solely, around the capital – where income tax bills are far outstripping the national average.
“In an election year, this could well be a delicate area for political candidates in those areas to navigate. Whether residents of Esher will relish the title of most highly income–taxed area of Britain is doubtful.
“While several well-known entertainment, sporting and business names have been criticised for their much-publicised use of tax avoidance schemes, overall, the contribution made by these wealthy individuals to the exchequer is still going a long way towards pushing up tax receipts.”
