Top earners set to cash in as pay rates spiral upwards

A study by the High Pay Commission found that high earners will see their pay rise from five per cent of national income to 14 per cent by 2030.

A survey of 2,000 adults found that seven out of 10 believed high pay made Britain “grossly unequal” and a similar number had no faith that anything could be done by Ministers or business.

The commission said average wages were “stagnating”, except for company bosses, with chief executives now paid up to 145 times the average wage.

Commission chairman Deborah Hargreaves said: “This is the clearest evidence so far that the gap between pay of the general public and the corporate elite is widening rapidly and is out of control.

“Set against the tough spending measures and mixed company performance, we have to ask ourselves whether we are paying more and getting less.”

The news comes as a team of inspectors formed in 2009 to assist with the tax affairs of Britain’s richest 5,000 people revealed it has doubled its tax take in a year.

HM Revenue & Customs’s high net worth unit reaped £162m in the 2010/11 financial year, compared with £86m in its first year.

A total of 400 people are employed in the unit, which works with representatives of individuals to ensure tax rules are applied correctly.

Treasury Minister David Gauke said: “These are economically challenging times and it is absolutely essential and only fair that everyone pays their share of tax.”

He added that the team ensured “technical complexity does not stand in the way of accuracy so that the very rich pay the tax the law says they should”. The sum is on top of the tax already paid by the individuals, whose wealth typically exceeds £200m.