Tax receipts for April to July 2021 came to £226.2 billion, £76bn higher than in the same period a year earlier, data from HMRC shows.

The tax authority warned against making too many comparisons between the two periods because they were skewed by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It said the difference could mainly be explained by payments deferred and received under the VAT payment deferment policy, which were £42.1bn higher than last year.

As a result of the policy, VAT accounted for 17% of all cash brought in by taxes in the 2020/21 tax year, down from 21% in 2019/20.

Cash receipts were also higher between April and July 2021 for income tax, capital gains tax and National Insurance contributions by £22.7bn.

Receipts also increased for corporation tax (£3.8bn), hydrocarbon oils (£2.9bn) and stamp taxes (£2.2bn).

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