Reflections on Tax and Starbucks and the like

The Gorse Fox was one of many who boycotted Starbucks over their tax affairs. Some would say, unfairly. After all, they were no breaking any laws, and nobody pays tax voluntarily. As the debate raged on in the papers, this graphic was published:



The Gorse Fox thought this was an excellent exposition of where the tax revenue gets spent. Putting it in a perspective that may be more palatable - for every £1000 you pay in tax:

• £231.59 goes to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• £152.68 goes to Department of Health (DH)
• £84.35 goes to Department for Education
• £66.19 goes to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
• £63.47 goes to Debt interest payments
• £57.05 goes to Ministry of Defence (MoD)
• £54.70 goes to Communities and Local Government (CLG)
• £50.42 goes to DEVOLVED SPENDING SCOTLAND
• £34.76 goes to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• £22.94 goes to DEVOLVED SPENDING WALES
• £17.82 goes to Department for Transport (DfT)
• £15.10 goes to Home Office (HO)
• £13.68 goes to Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
• £13.09 goes to DEVOLVED SPENDING NORTHERN IRELAND
• £11.65 goes to Department of Energy and Climate Change
• £11.12 goes to Department for International Development (DfID)
• £10.15 goes to Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
• £3.89 goes to Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
• £3.26 goes to Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
• £2.76 goes to Security and intelligence services
• £2.43 goes to HM Treasury (exc financial stability)
• £1.01 goes to Office of Gas and Electricity Markets/Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (OFGEM)
• £0.89 goes to Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
• £0.82 goes to Cabinet Office (CO)
• £0.44 goes to UK Statistics Authority
• £0.33 goes to National School of Government (NSG)
• £0.26 goes to Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED)
• £0.26 goes to Health Protection Agency
• £0.24 goes to House of Commons
• £0.23 goes to National Savings and Investments
• £0.18 goes to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
• £0.18 goes to Office of Communications (Ofcomm) from government funding (rest from license fees)
• £0.12 goes to UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)
• £0.11 goes to House of Lords
• £0.10 goes to Food Standards Agency
• £0.10 goes to National Audit Office
• £0.08 goes to Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
• £0.07 goes to Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO)
• £0.06 goes to Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
• £0.05 goes to Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
• £0.04 goes to Charity Commission for England and Wales
• £0.04 goes to Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
• £0.03 goes to Electoral Commission
• £0.03 goes to Government Actuary's Department (GAD)
• £0.03 goes to Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)
• £0.01 goes to Postal Services Commission (Postcomm)
• £0.01 goes to Scotland Office (SO)
• £0.01 goes to Wales Office (WO)
• £0.01 goes to Attorney General's Office (see also LSLO)
• £0.00 goes to HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate
• £0.00 goes to Office for Budget Responsibility
• £0.00 goes to Northern Ireland / Human Rights Commission

So over half of your Tax goes to the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Health, Department for Education, and Revenue & Customs.