Milton Keynes people pay second highest amount of taxes in the country, research reveals

Milton Keynes workers pay more in taxes than anywhere outside London, new research has revealed.

The average annual salary in MK is £36,796 but out of this, £9,836 will go in income tax, National Insurance, council tax, car tax and VAT on energy, food, mobile phones and wifi over the next year.

This totals 27% of the average salary.

The city’s council tax bills came out as among the highest of all the cities analysed. Here, the average household pays council tax of £947.85 a year.

The figures come from The Year In Tax Report, compiled by pension advisors Almond Financial, who took a deep dive into the taxes we pay in our everyday lives and compared the totals from cities all over the UK.

Nor surprisingly, London came out highest, with £11,872 in taxes going out of an average salary of £44,190. But despite the higher cost of living, London was found to have the lowest average council tax bill of just £603.11 payable per adult in the average household.

The government set to benefit from a £40 billion tax boost by 2028 due to frozen income tax allowances and thresholds. This means higher-rate taxpayers will pay £3,700 more per year in tax.

Principal financial advisor at Almond Financial, Sam Robinson, said: “Most of us wouldn’t think twice about how much tax is in every product or service we pay for, but this data is an interesting insight into how hard tax can hit our pockets.

“With tax being embedded in everything we buy, it is evident that our salaries are becoming increasingly stretched.

“As we continue to battle a cost of living crisis, these figures will provide uncomfortable reading for many. For those approaching state pension age, this will provide a stark reminder that in order to live a comfortable life in retirement, it’s important to plan for retirement effectively and start putting plans into place sooner rather than later.

“It’s important that if you need advice on either planning for retirement or ongoing financial advice, seek out a financial advisor who can walk you through the next steps.”