Dependency on benefits reaches an all-time high Analysis of Office for National Statistics by the Civitas think tank found that 54.2% of British households receive more from the state than they pay in taxes. The analysis shows a dramatic rise in state dependency compared with 2000, when it was just 40.3%, and is up on the previous high of 52.5% in 2013. The study shows 83% of all income tax is now paid by just 40% of British adults, and the top fifth of taxpayers account for two thirds of the total income for the Treasury from earnings. The top 10% account for 53.1%. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, said: “Lockdown changed the psyche of the British people. For all those years, we told them you can't get something for nothing, and all of sudden they did. The British public thought the Government could do it all – even pay their salaries and they don't have to work.” He added: “The more we spend, the more we have to tax or borrow. The Government has to do something, and do it pretty quick. Start cutting taxes, and put money back into people's pockets.”