Taxpayer giving £5.7bn too much
Treasury coffers will this year be swelled by £5.7bn simply because people not taking up all the tax breaks available to them.
The figure was revealed by a TaxAction investigation on behalf of independent financial advisers and said financial inertia and ignorance of the tax regime were to blame.
And nine out of ten UK taxpayers or 41 million people, are believed to be £140 worse off as a result.
The group advised that four million people on lower incomes could each save themselves £75 tax if they completed an R85 form, which prevents banks and building societies deducting tax from interest payments. People falling within the self-assessment scheme filing their returns on time could save a further £1.12bn.