Only 1 in 20 Think Taxes Are Well Spent

Only 5% of Brits think their taxes are well spent, with a clear majority saying taxes are too high.

The Adam Smith Institute commissioned its partner organisation, Adam Smith Insights, to conduct a nationally representative poll of adults in Great Britain. 

The polling showed that only 5% of Brits believe that their taxes are well spent, with over half of Brits saying that taxes are too high. It also demonstrated that over half of Brits also think that their own tax burden has increased over the past few years, despite repeated pledges by politicians of all parties not to raise taxes.

In this spending review, the government committed to a host of new funding commitments that will likely lead to increases in tax and borrowing. However, as this polling demonstrates, the majority of Brits would support cuts to public spending if they reduced taxes. These findings also show that Council Tax is the voters’ least favourite tax, closely followed by Income Tax and Inheritance Tax. 

This polling comes as the UK’s tax burden continues to rise. This year, Tax Freedom Day, a measure of when Britons stop paying tax, and start putting their earnings into their own pocket, falls on the 12th of June - 6 days longer than last year. And, the ASI expects that by 2028 the UK will have its latest Tax Freedom Day ever. 

With mounting public anger at the UK's high tax burden, politicians must urgently cut taxes. The Government should reconsider their hikes to Employer National Insurance contributions and focus instead on cutting spending, to enable reductions in the tax burden for ordinary Brits. 

KEY FINDINGS:

Brits think taxes are spent badly

• Only 5% of Brits are highly confident, that is, think that there is at least an 85% chance that their taxes are well spent.

• Only 28% of Brits think that there is at least a 50% chance that their taxes are well spent.

• 23% of Brits think that, at best, there is a 10% chance that their taxes are well spent.

Brits think taxes are too high

• The majority of Brits (52%) think that taxes are too high. This is opposed to only 5% who think that taxes are too low, 28% who think the current tax levels are ‘about right’ and 15% who are unsure.

Brits say taxes are rising

• 58% say that their overall tax burden has increased in the past 3-5 years, as opposed to 4% who say it has decreased, 33% who say it has ‘stayed about the same’ and 5% who are unsure.

Strong support for tax cuts

• 28% say they would ‘strongly support’ reduction in tax rates, even if this meant a reduction in public spending.

• Overall, 57% (28% ‘strongly support’ and 29% ‘somewhat support’) are supportive of a reduction in tax rates, even if this meant a reduction in public spending.

• Only 7% would ‘strongly oppose’ tax cuts.

The least popular taxes

• Council tax, income tax and inheritance tax are the least popular with the British public, with 23% most in favor of abolishing council tax, 19% most in favor of abolishing income tax, and 18% most in favor of abolishing inheritance tax.

James Lawson, Chairman of the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“Brits are being overtaxed and underserved. Our polling shows that they are fed up with paying sky-high taxes to a series of governments which they don't believe have delivered good value for money. The fact that only 5% of Brits believe that their taxes are being properly spent hammers home the scale of public anger and distrust.

Despite politicians of all major parties consistently ruling out tax rises, the tax burden is set to reach its highest level in recorded history by 2028. With a clear majority of the public agreeing that taxes are too high, our politicians must urgently move to restrain government spending, balance the books and cut taxes. If they do not, the backlash will only continue to grow”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For any further details on the methodology, or to arrange an interview, please contact press@adamsmith.org / +44 7584778207

Methodology:

Adam Smith Insights ran a poll on behalf of its sister think tank, the Adam Smith Institute, of a nationally representative sample of GB adults:

• The fieldwork dates were 6th to the 8th June 2025.

• Sample of 1066 GB Adults  

• Data was quota-ed and weighted to be representative of Great Britain on age, gender, region, 2024 general election vote, and ethnicity.

• Sample collected using online panel

• Survey length: 3 minutes

• Margin of error: 3.7%

• ‘Homeowners’ were defined as someone who self-reported either owning their home with a mortgage/loan or owning outright.

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