UK’s top 0.1% earners have annual income of over half a million, says IFS

Institute for Fiscal Studies report finds highest-paid earners benefit from lower tax rates open to business owners

The top 0.1% of earners in the UK have annual incomes in excess of 500,000, according to a study by a leading thinktank that shows the effect of unfair" tax rates available to business owners.

More than 50,000 people in the top income bracket account for 6% of all earnings - 60 times greater than their population share, said the Institute for Fiscal Studies in a report covering the 10 years to 2019. It showed that more than half of the top 1% richest adults lived in London and the south-east, while almost 60% were aged between 45-64, and as few as a fifth were women.