Britain’s biggest taxpayers revealed: Bet365 boss Denise Coates tops list for second year in a row

Gambling mogul Denise Coates was Britain’s biggest taxpayer for the second year running, according to the annual ranking of contributors to the public purse.

The Bet365 founder and her family, who are worth £7.166bn, stumped up an eye-watering £573million tax bill.  

Glenn Gordon, whose distillery empire has netted his family a £3.186bn fortune, came in second with tax liabilities of £436.4million. 

Sir James Dyson also featured on the Sunday Times Tax List 2021 in sixth place after pouring £115million into the Treasury coffers – £12million more than the year before.

The Brexiteer vacuum tycoon, who topped the 2020 rich list with his £16.2billion fortune, announced he was relocating Dyson’s head office to Singapore in 2019.

Celebrities including JK Rowling and Ed Sheeran were also ranked in the top 50 taxpayers, who on average paid less than the year before.

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The list, which mostly covers business and personal tax exposure to the end of 2019, shows the amount of tax taken from Britain’s super-rich fell sharply even before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.

The wealthy needed to contribute £13.1million to make it into the top 50 of this year’s list, down from £20.4million the year before, a 36 per cent drop.  

Harry Potter author Rowling fell from 19th to 23rd in this year’s rankings, with her tax liabilities dropping from £48.6million to £34.8million.

It comes as the world-famous writer’s earnings dropped from an estimated £100 million last year to £72.5million as theatres and theme parks closed. 

Sheeran is the most high-profile new entry to the tax list, ranking 32nd with tax payments of £28.2million.

Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley climbed one place in the rankings to 12th, despite his tax liabilities dropping by £8.8million to £46million.

Meanwhile, Sir Philip Green dropped out of the top 50 list as his Arcadia retail empire fell into administration.

Sir Philip and his wife Lady Tina Green were ranked 23rd in last year’s list with a tax liability of £44.4million.

The list’s top 50 wealthy individuals or families were liable for around £3.18billion of tax this year, up 27 per cent from £2.5billion last year.

But this is due to tax paid on £982.5million of dividends to shareholders in the William Grant whisky conglomerate, and a change in the list’s methodology, which now counts gambling duties paid by betting businesses.

Without these two factors, this year’s total tax liability of the top 50 would be £700 million less, and below last year’s figure of £2.5billion. 

Robert Watts, compiler of the tax list, said: ‘These worrying numbers show the tax taken from many of Britain’s super-rich has fallen sharply, largely because their businesses have seen a downturn.’

Institute for Public Policy Research executive director Carys Roberts said the UK tax system was ‘no longer fit for purpose’.

She said: ‘Last year’s rich list identified the UK’s 10 richest people and families, yet only two of them are listed among the 10 who paid most taxes in the last financial year.

‘These glaring gaps show that our current tax system is no longer fit for purpose, it’s just too easy for some of the UK’s richest people to avoid paying taxes in the way that most ordinary families have to.’

The annual survey examines the taxes due on business profits, share sales, dividend income, and, where known, personal income through salaries. 

 

Harry Potter author JK Rowling – £35million

The Harry Potter author came 23rd in the Sunday Times Tax list, dropping down from 19th the year before, with her tax liabilities dropping from £48.6million to £34.8million.

It comes as the world-famous writer’s earnings dropped from an estimated £100million last year to £72.5million as theatres and theme parks closed during the pandemic. 

The 55-year-old, who also writes crime fiction under the pen name Robert Galbraith, was last estimated to be worth £795million.   

Stephen Rubin and family – £156million  

Stephen Rubin became the chairman of Pentland when his father died in 1969. 

He changed the company name to Pentland and in 1981 bought a 55 per cent stake in Reebok for around £60,000. 

Rubin sold Pentland’s stake in Reebok a decade later for £585million.

Pentland’s other brands include Speedo, Berghaus, Canterbury of New Zealand, Endura, Mitre, Ellesse, Boxfresh, Seavees, and Red Or Dead.

Leonie Schroder and family – £109million

Last year, it was revealed that Leonie Schroder had been given a seat on the board at fund manager Schroders – a position made vacant when her father Bruno died. 

Moves to put the divorced mother-of-three on the 215-year-old firm’s board last year were abandoned after disquiet from investors.  

Sir James Dyson and family – £115million

James Dyson founded his eponymous design brand in 1979 and in order to work on the machine that would make his name – a bagless vacuum cleaner.

After some 5,000 prototypes he began selling the ‘G-Force’ vacuum in Japan in 1986, followed by a series of lawsuits that nearly bankrupted his young family.

In 1993 he began manufacturing out of a factory in Wiltshire that he bought with a loan, and by 1995 the Dyson was the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the country.

The original vacuum has been adapted many times since – including one which features a rolling ball which he originally designed to go on a wheelbarrow – and Dyson also makes bladeless fans, air purifiers and hair dryers.

His designs have won multiple awards, and also feature in the permanent collections of design museums around the world. He now has a personal fortune estimated at £16.2billion. 

The Duke of Westminster – £41million

Billionaire Hugh Grosvenor, 28 — who owns more land than the Queen — inherited a fortune of £9.3billion after his father died.

He now has ownership of the family seat Eaton Hall, as well as a property empire that includes 300 acres in Mayfair and Belgravia, as well as land in Cheshire, Oxford, Scotland and Spain.

The Duke is friends with the royals and was asked to be godfather to Prince William’s eldest son George.

Mike Ashley – £46million

Mike Ashley owns Newcastle United and reportedly forked out around £135million to buy the club.

He is also the Chief Executive of Sports Direct.

He founded the sports store chain 1982 and it is the United Kingdom’s largest sports-goods retailer with 670 stores world wide. 

He bought House of Fraser in 2018.

Lord Bamford and family £43million

Anthony Bamford succeeded his father as chairman and managing director of manufacturing equipment company JCB in 1975. 

He was knighted in 1990.  

His wealth is estimated at £4.7billion.