The UK’s highest tax payers have been revealed in a new list that was shared recently. Among the famous faces included are Ed Sheeran and JK Rowling, who both rank highly on the list. The Top 100 individuals collectively added £5.35billion to public finances over the last 12 months.
JK Rowling, who is famed for writing the Harry Potter series, occupies the 31st spot on the list having paid £40million in taxes last year. It has been reported that she has a net worth of £875million. One place below her in 32nd place is Ed Sheeran, who paid more than £36million in UK taxes in 2023.
Sheeran’s mention comes after it was shared last October that he saw his earnings increase to £18.3million in 2022, marking an increase of £8.4million from the previous year. Consequently, the musician paid most of his pay rise, a total of £8million, in tax last year. Other famous individuals among the Top 100 include heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua, who occupies the 88th spot.
The list’s top position is claimed by Russian-born financial trader Alex Gerko who paid an estimated amount of £664.5m in taxes for the 2023 financial year, an average of over £1.8m each day. Bernie Ecclestone, the former F1 chief executive, is listed in second place having paid £650million in tax and penalties to HMRC to avoid facing time in jail. Meanwhile, Denise Coates, who is the boss of Bet365, itself came in third place.
Sheeran has a history of allocating vast amounts of his income to charity or children’s hospitals. Speaking to OK! Magazine in 2017 he said, “It is ‘earn a penny, spend a penny’ with me. As soon as it comes in, it goes out. I don’t have that much value on it. I place more value on my friends and family being OK. A lot of my money goes to charity or to children’s hospitals near where I live. I have enough to be comfortable and the rest goes to help people.
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