Average family pays £656k in tax, claims study

Over a lifetime the average UK family will pay more than £650,000 in tax, according to a new report.

Figures compiled by pressure group the TaxPayers Alliance (TPA) found that households with earners in the lowest income bracket will pay an average of £235,000 in direct and indirect taxation, families with earners who fall into the top income bracket pay an average of more than £1.3m during their lifetime.

The figures, which take into account tax paid during a working lifetime of 40 years and 15 years of retirement, come at a time when family incomes are being squeezed by expensive utility bills and petrol costs. A separate poll carried out earlier this month claimed that almost one-third of adults in the UK plan to cut back on spending during 2012.

Matthew Sinclair, director of the TPA said more should be done to ease the burden of tax on the UK's families.

He said: "Households in the UK now pay an incredible amount in tax over a lifetime, handing over a hefty slice of their income. The VAT hike has added to the cost of living and many taxpayers are really feeling the pinch with little prospect of improvement on the horizon."

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