The amount of capital gains tax collected in the 2014-15 tax year was the second highest on record, as investors were hit by the gains made on equity investments and property during this period.
Figures from HM Revenue & Customs, published last week, found that 242,000 individuals paid out £6.9bn in capital gains tax.
This was the second highest figure ever, after the 2007-08 financial year when capital gains tax liabilities reached a record high of £7.7bn.
Ben Yearsley, investment director at the Wealth Club, pointed out the number of taxpayers paying capital gains tax jumped sharply in the 2014-15 tax year, from the previous year’s figure of £5.5bn.
He suggested could be a reflection of gains made on equity investments and sales of property after a very strong period of performance.
Mr Yearsley pointed out that figures from the 2013-14 tax year show that financial assets, or shares, made up 72 per cent of the total chargeable amount, while residential property accounted for 14 per cent.
Figures from the 2015-16 tax year will be released in October 2017.
Mr Yearsley pointed out that 40 per cent of those liable to capital gains tax made investment gains of between £10,000 and £25,000, and said many could benefit from tax efficient investments to defer or reduce their tax bill.
“Many investors are only just waking up to the possibility of using enterprise investment schemes or seed enterprise investment schemes to either defer or halve their CGT bill as well as reduce income tax and remove assets from their estate for IHT purposes.
“The beauty of these schemes are that you can actually go back to previous tax years and potentially reclaim capital gains tax already paid.”
