Civometry

Claim checked · 4 September 2026

“Taxes are at record levels”

Depends which measure you use. Government receipts took 40.1% of GDP in the year ending March 2026 — the highest share since 1982-83, but below the post-war peak of 42.8% in 1950-51.

Figures in the text were correct on 4 September 2026; the charts below are drawn live from the same series and will move as new periods are published.

The cleanest way to compare the tax burden across decades is public sector receipts as a share of GDP. In the year ending March 2026 that share was 40.1% — the highest of the modern era: the last year above it was 1982-83 (40.5%).

Whether that is a "record" depends on the window. It is a record for anyone's working lifetime — higher than any year since 1983. It is not an all-time record: receipts took 42.8% of GDP in 1950-51, at the height of post-war reconstruction, and stayed above 40% for several years around then.

"Receipts" is wider than "taxes" — it includes interest, dividends and other government income — but taxes dominate it and it is the series published consistently back to 1900. The chart below shows the whole century, with the official forecast years excluded from the comparison above.

Public sector receipts since 1900, per cent of GDP

Latest: 42.7% (Year ending March 2031). Full series, source and caveats

Public sector receipts since 1900, per cent of GDP: Year ending March 1901 to Year ending March 2031ConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabourLabourCoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeLabour0%20%40%1910192019301940195019601970198019902000201020202030Year ending March 1901: 10.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1902: 11.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1903: 12.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1904: 12.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1905: 12.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1906: 12.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1907: 11.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1908: 11.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1909: 12.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1910: 12.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1911: 12.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1912: 12.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1913: 13.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1914: 13.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1915: 13.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1916: 14.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1917: 18.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1918: 20% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1919: 20.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1920: 22.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1921: 22.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1922: 26.6% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1923: 27.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1924: 25.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1925: 24.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1926: 24.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1927: 25.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1928: 25% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1929: 25.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1930: 25% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1931: 25.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1932: 27.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1933: 28.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1934: 27.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1935: 26.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1936: 25.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1937: 25.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1938: 25.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1939: 25.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1940: 26.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1941: 28.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1942: 32.6% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1943: 35.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1944: 38% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1945: 39.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1946: 39.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1947: 37.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1948: 37% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1949: 42.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1950: 43.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1951: 42.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1952: 41.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1953: 39.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1954: 38% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1955: 37.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1956: 36% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1957: 35.6% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1958: 35.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1959: 35.6% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1960: 33.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1961: 33.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1962: 35.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1963: 35.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1964: 34.6% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1965: 35.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1966: 36.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1967: 37.6% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1968: 39.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1969: 40.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1970: 41.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1971: 40% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1972: 38.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1973: 35.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1974: 36.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1975: 39% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1976: 40.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1977: 40.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1978: 38.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1979: 36.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1980: 37.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1981: 38.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1982: 40.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1983: 40.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1984: 39.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1985: 39.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1986: 38.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1987: 37.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1988: 36.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1989: 35.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1990: 34.6% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1991: 33.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1992: 33.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1993: 31.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1994: 31.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1995: 32.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1996: 33.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1997: 32.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1998: 34.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 1999: 35% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2000: 35.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2001: 36.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2002: 35.6% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2003: 34.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2004: 35.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2005: 35.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2006: 36.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2007: 36.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2008: 37.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2009: 35.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2010: 35.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2011: 36.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2012: 37.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2013: 36.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2014: 36.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2015: 36.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2016: 36.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2017: 37.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2018: 36.9% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2019: 37.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2020: 36.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2021: 37.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2022: 38.4% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2023: 39.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2024: 39.3% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2025: 38.8% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2026: 40.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2027: 41.2% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2028: 42% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2029: 42.1% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2030: 42.5% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026Year ending March 2031: 42.7% per cent of GDP · published 27 August 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

Source: OBR, Public finances databank.

How claims are checked

A verdict here says what the named official series show, on the periods named in the text — nothing more. Where two reasonable measures disagree, the verdict is “Depends which measure you use” and both are shown. Every series links to its full page with the publisher, the exact source cell, revisions and caveats. Free to reuse with attribution to Civometry and the original publisher.