Britain’s tax burden risesOECD figures show Britain’s tax burden is catching up with the “big government” countries of Europe as it closes in on a 49-year high. Tax in the UK as a share of GDP hit 33.3% in 2017, a rise of 0.6 percentage points over the previous year that put the UK 20th of the global think tank’s 36 member states. By comparison, the average tax burden across the OECD rose by 0.2 percentage points to 34.2%.