HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has revealed record tax revenues for the year to April 2018 following sharp rises in income tax and national insurance earnings.
The tax office, which published its annual report and accounts this month, said it has collected billions of more pounds through its ever-tightening compliance work.
The figures show that HMRC brought in a record £605.8 billion in taxes, up 5.4 per cent compared to the same period a year previous.
When broken down into individual tax streams, the report shows that the office made huge gains in income tax (£186 billion, up from £173 billion) and national insurance contributions (£130.5 billion, up from £122.5 billion).
Business taxes grew marginally, with VAT rising from £124.4 billion to £128.6 billion, and corporation tax from £51.1 billion to £53.3 billion.
Capital gains tax revenue saw a loss, however, decreasing by 7.1 per cent. This was attributed to the reduction in the rate from 18 per cent to 10 per cent for non-higher rate taxpayers.
Although its direct compliance yield revenues grew by just £1.4 billion, it appears its success is having a greater influence on the general population.
The data shows that HMRC experienced a 90 per cent success rate in tax prosecutions, netting £37 billion in additional tax revenue.
Compliance measures in the public sector, such as its clamp down on disguised remuneration loans and off-payroll working rules, shows that HMRC generated an additional £700 million in income tax and NICs.
An HMRC spokesperson said: “Every year, through our compliance work, we collect or protect billions of pounds that would have otherwise been lost to the UK through fraud, tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.
“We’ve strengthened our grip on those who deliberately cheat the system and continue to pursue those who refuse to play what they owe, applying civil and criminal sanctions as appropriate to this dishonest minority.”