Bankers paid £66.5bn in taxes in 2015 – the highest level since 2007

The findings show that the industry has recovered from the financial crisis

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Bankers make their biggest contribution to the UK tax bill since the financial crisis this year.

Some 66.5 billion was paid by financial services in taxes, up 1.4 per cent since the previous years. This amounts to 11 per cent of government tax receipts for the year 2014/2015, according to a new report from the City of London Corporation and PwC.

Tax payments made by the financial sector, which employs over 1.1 million people or 3.4 per cent of the UK’s workforce, have increased for the third year in a row, according to the report.

According to Mark Boleat, City of London Corporation policy chairman, the findings show that the industry has recovered from the financial crisis.

“These figures show the enormous value of the financial services sector in underpinning the wider economy, the Government’s spending programme, and public services. Eight years after the financial crisis, the industry is growing at a strong pace, and is well and truly recovered from the economic shocks brought about by the crash,” he said.

The jump in total tax contribution was driven by increases in the amount generated from corporation tax, up by nearly 41 per cent to £7.6 billion.

While the bank levy – an annual tax to discourage banks from risky borrowing, which has contributed to the 2008 financial crisis – generated a nearly 23 per cent increase from a year earlier to £2.7 billion.

The biggest portion of taxes paid, however, came from employment and totalled £30 billion.

A total of 48 companies took part in the City of London Corporation and PwC survey representing 40.3 per cent of the industry.