Esher and Walton residents top average earnings table

As Chelsea sit proudly at the summit of the Premier League, the team's footballers are partly responsible for another table-topping achievement.

The residents of Esher and Walton, home to the club's training ground and many a Chelsea footballer's abode, pay more income tax than those of any other parliamentary constituency, according to consultants UHY Hacker and Young.

Ex-Chelsea captain Frank Lampard lives here. So do entertainers Mick Hucknall and Chris Tarrant, as well as a swath of non-doms and expats who make their home in the quiet but unremarkable Surrey constituency to be close to international colleges such as the American School.

Their presence means Esher and Walton residents have comfortably the highest average gross income in the country, at £59,600, and pay the highest average income tax, of £16,900.

The Buckinghamshire constituency of Chesham and Amersham is the only other in the UK whose residents have an average gross income above £50,000. Average tax payments there are £13,200.

The top 20 constituencies are dominated by Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Hertfordshire. But sneaking into 10th spot is the Cheshire constituency of Tatton - which again is a haven for celebrities and footballers.

The figures, compiled from HM Revenue & Customs data for the 2012/13 tax year, showed UK average gross income was £27,445, and average income tax was £4,363.

The residents of Stoke-on-Trent Central paid £2,100 in income tax, the lowest of any UK constituency and an eighth of Esher and Walton.

Taken in aggregate, London taxpayers fork out an average of £8,980 in income tax from an average gross income of £39,900.

Mark Giddens of UHY Hacker Young chartered accountants said several parliamentary constituencies across the southeast were "a real hotspot for the taxman", partly because of the residences of high-earning celebrities and easy transport links to the City of London.

"In an election year, this could well be a delicate area for political candidates in those areas to navigate," said Mr Giddens.

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