Brits failing to save on tax

The 50 per cent tax rate is on its way out but many Brits are still complaining of high taxes restraining their finances, despite the fact that they are doing little to take advantage of the tax relief on offer.

In fact, the latest Tax Action Report from Unbiased revealed that 83 per cent of people claim they have done nothing in the past 12 months to reduce the amount of tax they pay. The figure rise to 88 per cent when just looking at women.

Half of these people stated that they believe they are being as tax efficient as possible so they have not made any further efforts to change things. However, 27 per cent said that they don't know how to go about being more tax efficient, while 14 per cent said that they just don't know why they haven't attempted to reduce their tax liability.

Karen Barrett, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, commented: “Looking back at the last decade and the tax wastage figures in our reports, the numbers are just as shocking now as they were then.

“This year marks our second highest tax wastage figure on record, only marginally falling from a record high last year.”