Britain's biggest taxpayers revealed - from Ed Sheeran to JK Rowling and Fred Done

Britain's biggest taxpayers have been revealed.

They include pop star Ed Sheeran, Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Salford bookmaking billionaire Fred Done. The top 100 also includes Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin, sportswear tycoon Mike Ashley, the remaining members of rock band Queen, aristocrats and rags-to-riches entrepreneurs.

They come from the worlds of music and arts, to high finance and the high street. And with money tight for Chancellor Rachel Reeves given the black hole in the public finances left by the Tories, the taxes paid by the super-rich are more important than ever.

But the bad news for her is that the 100 wealthy individuals or families revealed in this year's Sunday Times Tax List coughed-up 7% less last year, though they were still liable for just under £5billion in total. The drop is blamed on some companies owned by the super-rich doing less well while the economy was sluggish.

Yet while the money from those making it on the list certainly swelled the Treasury's coffers, in many cases the tax came not from the individuals themselves and their generosity. It takes in taxes paid by their companies, including the likes of corporation tax and employers' national insurance in proportion to how much of the business they control.

The research is based on publicly available information rather than tax returns. Topping this year's list is secretive hedge fund billionaire Sir Chris Hohn, at almost £340million, and up on £263million from 2023, when he was in fourth place.

Betting tycoons make up the next two places, helped by the amount their empires pay in gambling duties. Brothers Fred and Peter Done, and their families, paid £273.4million in taxes, according to the research. They are followed by