Tax Freedom Day - could we be celebrating earlier?

Andy Zanelli, head of retirement planning, AXA Wealth, comments on calculations from the Adam Smith Institute that show the average UK tax payer will hand HMRC 148 days of their salary in tax payments.

“For the first five months of the year the average British taxpayer works for the tax man and few of us want to pay more tax than we need to; could we be doing more to minimise the tax we pay?
 
“There are some simple steps that we can all take to maximise the available tax breaks provided by the Government and mitigate our individual tax liability. First, from July this year the tax free annual allowance for ISAs rises to £15,000, meaning that couples can save £30,000 tax free every year. Second, we can maximise the contributions that we make into pension schemes each year and with greater flexibility around pensions withdrawals expected from April 2015, this may become more attractive than ever. Finally, for those who are likely to be impacted by inheritance tax, we should consider making gifts within our inheritance tax exemptions in order to reduce our overall IHT liability.
 
“The UK still celebrates Tax Freedom Day later than the US and Australia, but with a review of your finances you could be celebrating earlier.”