Taxes steadily rise under chancellor
Gordon Brown continues to raise UK taxes, but we're still below the EU average
Taxation in Britain under Gordon Brown’s economic stewardship has continued
to rise, say the latest figures from European Union (EU) statistical agency
Eurostat.
Research by the agency found that the UK total has reached 36% of GDP in
2004.
This is up from 35.5% in 2003, itself a small rise from 35.4% in 1995.
British taxation is still below the average for the entire EU, however, which is
39.3%, (the old 15 member EU is 39.3%).
Britain’s toughest taxes are on capital, with an average rate of 34.9%, said
Eurostat, one of the highest it has recorded in Europe, only below Denmark and
France, although the agency has only partial figures for this particular data.