2011-08-24

By staff reporter

Insurers contribute £10.4bn to the exchequer as the country recovers from recession. The crucial role the insurance industry plays in a healthy UK economy is revealed in a tax report from the ABI and PwC.

The industry made a total contribution of £10.4bn to the Exchequer – which would cover the entire £10.2bn Home Office budget. Insurance companies in the Hundred Group paid the third highest corporation tax of any sector.

The independent report’s main findings are:

-Corporation tax paid by insurers was £2.7bn in 2010 – or 6.4% of total Government corporation tax receipts. This is a 50% jump in corporation tax paid out by ABI members since 2009.
-Insurance companies in the Hundred Group paid the third highest corporation tax of any sector.
-The £10.4bn Total Tax Contribution breaks down as £4.6bn taxes borne and £5.8bn taxes collected on behalf of Government including Insurance Premium Tax.

Otto Thoresen, director-general, ABI said, "The tax paid by the UK insurance industry could pay for the whole of the Home Office budget, or fund the budgets of the Departments for Transport, Communities and the Foreign Office put together. Insurers are crucial to the economy. Our total tax contribution is now higher than it was before the recession showing the important role the insurance industry is playing in the recovery and how resilient the industry is during tough times.”

“These figures highlight the importance of consistent, competitive tax rules which could help the industry to grow further so that it can continue to make an important contribution to the UK coffers. We are talking to the Government about how to make the UK tax system an asset for the UK when it comes to retaining and attracting insurers to the UK. It is important we encourage our good, successful UK businesses to expand and grow rather than having rules which make the UK a less attractive place to base a business,” Thorensen added.

Insurers are major contributors to the UK economy and crucial to its future growth. One of the biggest private employers in the country, the wider insurance industry employs over 275,000 people of which 152,000 work for ABI member companies, who pay employment taxes worth £2.64bn.

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