With the government inventing
ever new ways to eat into our salaries, the competition for the most despised tax in Britain was always going to be tight.
But in a recent poll of more than 2,000 people, it was our particular hatred of council tax that shone through, with 43% ranking it among their top three most despised levies.
Significantly, council tax was only voted second in a similar poll last year, indicating a growing resentment towards the tax that politicians would do well to keep in mind, given that elections are just around the corner.
Stamp duty a growing pain
TV licences came in second on the list, followed by fuel duty in third place and the dreaded inheritance and income taxes in fourth and fifth respectively.
Given that the government has announced a
stamp duty holiday for all properties worth less than £175,000, you would expect this tax to slide down the list.
But it actually jumped from eighth last year to sixth, perhaps indicating that the stamp duty holiday isn't helping as many people as the government had hoped.
Airport taxes didn't even make the top ten most hated taxes in 2008, but this year it has leapt into ninth position, with 12% resenting this taxation.
Not all tax is necessary
With the government racking up debt at an alarming rate, tax hikes are a certainty in the coming years.
And while some taxes are unavoidable, financial advisers unbiased.co.uk estimate Brits could save as much as £10 billion by
becoming more tax efficient.
“While tax can seem a complex issue, especially in the current environment, people can save hundreds of much needed pounds by ensuring they are being tax efficient and not wasting money unnecessarily,” says Unbiased CEO David Elms.
“Taxpayer resentment towards compulsory taxes could be offset to an extent by being as tax efficient as possible in other areas of their finances.”
Start with an ISA
Start by
using your ISA allowance every year to protect your savings from the tax man.
As you are probably already aware, the annual allowance has increased from £7,200 to £10,200 for over 50s this tax year.
Everyone else will have to wait until next year to benefit. To read more about being tax efficient,
click here.
