Demographic Time Bomb ?

On the questions of income source; tax; and distribution of wealth this article is interesting

www.ifs.org.uk/bns/bn76.pdf

In particular it records that the average share of income which derives from employment is 69% for all tax payers: the top 1-9% get 76% from this source : and the top 0.1% only 58%. It is true that this is based on tax returns, and so excludes income from sources not subject to UK tax ( and anything fiddled): but even given that, the idea that much of the income of the very wealthy is from other sources, as compared with income for all tax payers, is not demonstrated. The higher proportion of income from employment in the top 1-9% disappears when pensioners are excluded, however: because there are far fewer pensioners in that group than in the group of all adult taxpayers

The exemptions Stilicho mentioned are also discussed. They represent an average of 2.3% of before-tax income for all taxpayers: and 4% for the top 1-9%: this rises to 5.2% and 6.3% for the very richest. That is not an insignificant benefit given that the top 10% received 40% of all personal income in the period discussed. They are somewhat offset by the (not very) progressive tax regime which results in the average tax rate for all adults lying at 17.8%: that for the top 1-9% being 21.1%: and for the other two groups 31.8% and 35.2% respectively. It is a problem: but as with income from other sources it is not the problem Stilicho implies.