The head of gambling empire Bet365 was Britain’s biggest taxpayer last year, followed by billionaire banker Chris Rokos and Sports Direct owner Stephen Rubin.
Denise Coates, 54, who paid herself £421million in 2020 has built up an estimated £8.4billion wealth from Bet365 making her the 17th richest person in the country.
Her family paid an estimated £481.7million in tax last year, according to the Sunday Times Tax List, topping the annual ranking of billionaires’ tax payments for the third consecutive year.
Her pay since 2016 totals almost £1.3billion.
Stephen Rubin, 84, whose family co-own JD Sports Berghaus and Kickers, paid £256million.
Behind him, the Weston family, which owns Fortnum & Masons and recently sold Selfridges for £4billion, paid £175.4million.
The most notable of the 10 new entries in this year’s list is Lord Sugar.
The Apprentice host ranks sixth this year off the back of his £163.4million tax bill, largely made up of a £148.6million dividend tax from his Amshold Ltd property business.
The total tax paid by the top 50 taxpayers rose by £510million to £3.7billion up from £3.2billion the previous year.
The minimum amount of tax paid needed to make the top 50 rose to £15.2million, up 16% on the previous year.
“This is a stronger Tax List than last year’s – which will be good news for the chancellor,” Robert Watts, compiler of the list, said. “The total take is up by more than £500million”
However, the IPPR thinktank, which is campaigning for a wealth tax, said the list provides “an insight into the UK’s broken tax system” which allows “the richest people in the country to pay little to no tax at all”.
“Only one name from the top 10 of last year’s [Sunday Times] Rich List appear among those thought to be the top 10 taxpayers,” George Dibb, head of the IPPR’s centre for economic justice, said.
"Our tax system, which supports the NHS and welfare safety net, should ensure that those with the broadest shoulders bear the biggest burden. But today it’s just too easy for some of the richest people in the country to pay little to no tax at all.”
Dibb pointed out that of the top 10 richest people in the UK, appear on the tax list.
The richest person in the UK according to the Sunday Times’ rich list is Sir Len Blavatnik, a Ukrainian-born businessman with an estimated £23billion fortune is not included in the tax list.
The Sunday Times Tax List top 10
1. Denise John and Peter Coates £481.7m
2. Chris Rokos £300m
3. Stephen Rubin and family £256.1m
4. The Weston family £175.4m
5. Fred and Peter Done £169.8m
6. Lord Sugar £163.4m
7. Peter Harris and family £141.4m
8. Sir Chris Hohn £126.1m
9. Leonie Schroder and family £121.2m
10. Alex Gerko £117.4m
Chris Rokos, 51, who runs $13billion hedge fund Rokos Capital Management, paid £300million in tax after he collected £509million in pay from the hedge fund that made almost £1billion in profit from bets placed during the pandemic.
The fund made £914million in profit in the year to March 2021 according to Companies House.
Also in the top five are Fred and Peter Done, who paid about £170million in tax from their gambling business Betfred.
Meanwhile, JK Rowling paid £36million in tax, bringing to £119.4million the amount she has paid in tax over the past three years.
Rowling has said she makes a conscious decision to pay full taxes in the UK, refusing to live in “the limbo of some tax haven” and criticising “greedy tax exiles”.
Rowling, who received single mother benefits when she was writing the first Harry Potter book, has previously spoken of the debt she felt she owed to the welfare state.
“When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become, was there to break the fall,” she said.
“It would have been contemptible to scarper to the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque.”
Among celebrities, Ed Sheeran was named as the UK's highest tax-paying celebrity in 2021, for the second year running.
The musician paid a further £12.5million into the Treasury's coffers.
David and Victoria Beckham were next up with the power couple having a tax liability of £7.2million.
Their whopping wealth stood at £380million as the pair continued to succeed in the business world.
