Britain’s government collected a record £24.2 billion (roughly HK$220 billion) in capital gains tax during the 2024-25 fiscal year, a jump of 89% year-on-year, as Labour’s broader tax increases on businesses continue to boost public finances. The figures matter directly to overseas owners of UK property and other UK-based assets, since capital gains tax applies to non-resident owners disposing of UK assets and any further rate rises would land on that group too.
The number of capital gains taxpayers rose 45% over the period to a record 584,000. Within that total, taxpayers with gains of £5 million or more made up fewer than 1% of all capital gains taxpayers but accounted for 45% of total CGT revenue, underlining how concentrated the tax take is among the largest gains.
The strong collection figures are expected to feed into the Labour government’s first budget, scheduled for October 2026, with the data likely to strengthen calls for the government to also impose new levies on the banking sector, including on HSBC and Standard Chartered. Some officials have separately cautioned that pushing capital gains tax rates higher still risks driving taxpayers toward asset-based avoidance schemes instead of raising net revenue.
On the banking-levy question specifically, Sky News has reported that UK Finance — the trade body representing banks including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group — warned the government in a letter that further tax rises on the sector would risk “damaging the UK’s international competitiveness.” HSBC chief executive Georges Elhedery echoed that concern, saying “UK growth needs strong banks” in response to the prospect of a new levy.
References
The Standard (Hong Kong) – UK rakes in record-high capital gains tax, paving way for more levies
