Southerners pay £2k more in taxes

Date: 30th September 2008

Taxpayers in the south of England pay £2,000 more than those in the rest of the country, according to a think tank.

Oxford Economics discovered that the south subsidises public spending in the rest of the UK by about £40 billion a year.

The think tank calculated that this equates to southerners receiving £2,000 a year less in the way of public services.

The report said: "There has been a persistent pattern of the southern regions providing fiscal support to the rest of the UK, which is not surprising given the relative strengths of the different regional economies and the broadly redistributive nature of the government's policies."

It continued that London, the south-east and the east were the only regions making a net contribution to the Treasury, as they hand over nearly £40 billion per year.

Research published earlier this week revealed that certain costs had dropped for small businesses, including those of advertising, telecoms and accountants.