Taxable income rises over five years in West Sussex

Taxpayers in West Sussex saw a significant rise in earnings over five years, according to newly-released figures from HMRC.

The data shows that the average taxpayer in West Sussex made £34,200 over the 12 months in 2015-16, with some taxed on a combination of income from regular jobs, self-employment and pensions.

It represents an increase of 20% on 2010-11.

It takes the average total income for taxpayers in the area to a level 2% higher than the UK average of £33,400.

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The increase may be partially explained by an increase in the tax-free personal allowance, as the HMRC data only includes those who pay income tax. As the allowance increased from £6,475 in 2010-11 to £10,600 five years later, an estimated 12,000 fewer workers were taxed in West Sussex in 2015-16.

Taxpayers in West Sussex paid an average £5,990 in income tax over 2015-16. With 446,000 people taxed in the area, it amounted to a total contribution of £2.67 billion to government coffers.

The average income of taxpayers in West Sussex was lower than across the South East, where the mean was £37,900.

The majority of taxable income came from paid employment.

In addition, 54,000 people paid tax on money earned through self-employment, including those who work for themselves full-time or who run a business alongside a main job.

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The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea had the UK’s highest average income, with 74,000 taxpayers making an average of £178,000.

In contrast, the lowest average income was in Blackpool, at £22,300.

Data at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-and-tax-by-borough-and-district-or-unitary-authority-2010-to-2011, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-incomes-tables-312-to-315a-for-2015-to-2016