A native of Russia has again become the largest taxpayer in the UK
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The Times newspaper published an annual ranking of the largest taxpayers in the UK, and for the second year in a row it was headed by Alex Gerko, a native of Russia, a graduate of Moscow State University, a doctor of mathematical sciences, and the founder of the British trading company XTX Markets. Mr Gerko, who became a British citizen in 2016, paid £664.5 million in taxes to the British treasury in 2023.
Second place in the top 10 taxpayers was taken by former Formula 1 general manager Bernie Ecclestone. In October 2023, Mr. Ecclestone admitted pleaded guilty to concealing more than £400 million from taxation, and taking into account penalties and fines, his debts to the British crown amounted to £652.6 million. That’s how much he paid to settle the claims of the tax authorities.
The remaining 98 taxpayers are far ahead of these two, and overall, The Times estimates, they paid £200 million less last year than in 2022. The top 10 also included Denise, John and Peter Coates, co-owners of bookmaker Bet365, who paid £375.9 million in taxes; Fred and Peter Dan, founders of bookmaker Betfred, £204.6 million; Sir Tim Martin, owner of pub operator JD Wetherspoon, £167.1 million; famous British inventor Sir James Dyson and his family – £156 million; the Weston family, which owns Primark and Fortnum & Mason, £146.2 million; Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct, £139.4 million; John Bloor, owner of Triumph Motorcycles, £118.1 million; John Timpson and family, entrepreneur and philanthropist, £99.8 million.
In total, the top 100 taxpayers paid £5.35 trillion in taxes in the UK in 2023. This is 3% more than a year earlier.
The newspaper has been publishing lists of Britain’s largest taxpayers since 2019. Then Russian businessman Evgeny Kaspersky entered the list, paying £16.6 million to Her Majesty’s treasury and taking 43rd place on the list. Since then, apart from Mr. Gerko, who was born in Russia, there have been no people on the list who are in any way connected with Russia. They regularly appear on another newspaper list – the richest people in the United Kingdom.
Why the capital of Britain may cease to be a financial center – in the material “London is losing financial status”.
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