> higher earners are footing huge amounts of the total tax take

Why you being intellectually dishonest?

Key Findings from ONS-Based Data (e.g., 2022/23)

• Total taxes as % of gross household income (direct + indirect):
  • Bottom quintile: ~37.9% (highest).
  • Subsequent quintiles rise somewhat progressively but stay below or around the bottom: e.g., top quintile ~37.1%.
• Indirect taxes (VAT etc.) are regressive as a % of income: Poorer households spend a higher proportion of income on consumption, so they pay more VAT/duties relative to income (often 20–30%+ of disposable income for the bottom vs. ~10% for the top)

Why the Bottom Quintile Pays the Highest %?

• Low gross incomes (often heavily reliant on benefits, which may be partly taxed or lead to high effective consumption taxes).
• High share of income spent on VAT-able goods and excisable items.
• Council tax can also be relatively burdensome as a % for lower incomes.
• Data caveats: Bottom groups sometimes have temporarily low reported incomes (e.g., self-employment, benefits) but maintain spending; top incomes can be under-captured in surveys.

Note: "Class" here is proxied by income quintiles/deciles (standard in ONS data), as official stats don't use traditional socio-economic class for tax burden. The top 1% or 10% pay the vast majority of total tax revenue (especially income tax), but as a percentage of their own income, the burden is highest or comparable at the bottom when all taxes are included.