Mega-rich tax bill 'under 20%'

Almost one in 10 people earning more than £10 million a year is paying less than the 20% basic rate of income tax, the Treasury said, as it launched a defence of plans for a crackdown.

It said figures released for the first time underlined the need for action to prevent the super-rich exploiting the system of reliefs to reduce their tax bill below that of low-paid workers.