The 37 taxes you pay and why it now takes £3.1m to feel 'wealthy' - This is Money podcast
We all pay a multitude of other taxes, from air passenger duty to environmental levies on our energy bills.
Lee Boyce, Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost discuss what the total sum is - and that our tax rate is more like 57 per cent.
And tax rises don't always bring in more cash for the Treasury coffers.
As the Government weighs up introducing yet another tax - this time a wealth tax - we explore why despite the allowance being slashed the capital gains tax take is down and what it means for the Chancellor's plans.
How much you need to feel wealthy in different areas of Britain? Does £1million still cut it?
The six burning questions everyone is asking financial advisers right now… and their expert answers
And we answer a reader query: Could I give £250 gifts to 400 people who then pay them to my daughters to beat inheritance tax on £100,000?
Listen to the This is Money podcast
We publish the podcast every Friday on This is Money and at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and more. Search for it at your favourite podcast platform.
To download Apple Podcasts go to the App store. On Android devices, go to the Google Play store to download the podcast app of your choice.
You can press play to listen to this week's full episode on the player above, and wherever you get your podcasts please subscribe and review us if you like the podcast.
You can also listen to the latest episode, find the archive and join in the debate in reader comments on the This is Money podcast page.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
The Bank of England cuts its main interest rate to 4%, the lowest level since March 2023
The Bank of England cut its main interest rate Thursday by a quarter percentage point to 4%, as policy makers seek to bolster the sluggish U.K. economy. Thursday's decision was widely anticipated in financial markets as the bank's Monetary Policy Committee balances its responsibility to control inflation against concern that rising taxes and U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war may slow economic growth. The committee voted 5-4 in favor of the cut. The rate cut is the bank's fifth since last August, when policy makers began lower borrowing costs from a 16-year high of 5.25%. The Bank of England's key rate — a benchmark for mortgages as well as consumer and business loans — is now at the lowest level since March 2023. 'There will be hopes that if loans become cheaper, it will help boost consumer and business confidence but there's a long way to go,' Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said before the decision. 'In the meantime, speculation over potential tax rises in the Autumn Budget may keep households and companies cautious, given the uncertainty over where extra burdens may land.' Policymakers decided to cut rates even though consumer prices rose 3.6% in the 12 months through June, significantly above the bank's 2% target. The bank sees the recent rise in consumer prices as a temporary spike, due in part to high energy costs, and expects inflation to fall back to the target next year. Against the backdrop, policy makers were faced with reports that the government may be forced to raise taxes later this year due to sluggish economic growth, rising borrowing costs and pressure to increase spending. Britain's unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in the three months through May, the highest level in four years, signaling that previous tax increases and uncertainty about the global economy are weighing on employers. The U.K. economy grew 0.7% in the first three months of 2025 after stagnating in the second half of last year.
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why more students are set to get their preferred university places
A record number of 18-year-olds are predicted to secure their first-choice university place on A-level results day this year. Universities are expected to be more flexible with applicants who narrowly miss their grades, driven by financial pressures and competition to fill places. This situation creates a "buyer's market" for UK students, as institutions seek stability from domestic three-year undergraduate enrolments amid uncertainty over international student recruitment and frozen tuition fees. Despite a high number of offers already made, over 22,600 courses, including some at elite Russell Group universities, are available through the Ucas clearing system. Clearing has evolved from a last-chance option to a more widely used tool for students to secure places or change their study plans.
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Radisson Blu housekeepers in London to stage first hotel strike in 46 years
Housekeepers at Radisson Blu Canary Wharf are set to walk out at the end of this week in the first hotel workers' strike in England in 46 years. The hotel staff will be joined by bar staff from Draughts, London's popular board games café and restaurant on Saturday 9 August. The trade union United Voices of the World (UVW) have called it a 'defining moment for the UK labour movement' as the first hotel workers' strike since 1979. Workers at both workplaces voted 100 per cent in favour of strike action. According to UVW, Radisson Blu housekeepers are outsourced by WGC (formerly Windowgleam Company), who pay them £13 per hour – an amount below the London Living Wage of £13.85 per hour. The union also notes a reduction in contracted hours from 40 to as few as 16 per week, while daily room quotas have nearly doubled from 14 to 24. The union said workers find these conditions are unsustainable and are demanding a return to 40 guaranteed hours per week, as well as the London Living Wage. Draughts Bar staff are 'fighting against exploitative, and insecure working conditions' including zero-hour contracts, last-minute shift cancellations and a fall in their earnings due to the replacement of table service with QR code ordering, according to UVW. Petros Elia, general secretary at UVW, said: 'This strike is a historic turning point—hotel housekeepers, alongside bar staff, are taking collective action for the first time in over 46 years. 'They're standing up to poverty wages, zero hour contracts, excessive workloads, and the deep-rooted precarity that defines much of the hospitality industry. 'This fight goes beyond pay. It's a stand against a system that exploits migrant workers, women, and Black and brown workers, those who keep the industry running while being treated as disposable.'
