Surge in landfill tax blamed for fly-tip epidemic blighting Britain

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 17:37 EDT, 27 September 2026 | Updated: 17:59 EDT, 27 September 2026 Soaring landfill taxes are driving record amounts of fly-tipping, a report warns.Landfill levies have increased from £7 per tonne in 1996 to £126.15 in 2025 – yet revenues have roughly halved in real terms, a think-tank found.Fly-tipping has risen 31 per cent since 2018/19, reaching a record 1.26million incidents in England in 2024/25 – with the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) arguing taxing the sector more has backfired.It said HMRC estimated the gap between landfill taxes and revenues reached £240million in 2024/5.It also highlighted a case in Oxfordshire where 21,000 tonnes of rubbish were dumped in a field, leaving a predicted £7.3million clean-up bill. And as well as landfill taxes, the think-tank blamed high duties on tobacco for fuelling the booming black market.It said nearly one in three of all cigarettes smoked in Britain were now illegal and revenues from tax were declining.While this is partly due to fewer people smoking – with the number of adult smokers dropping 20 per cent between 2021 and 2024 – legal cigarette sales have dropped by 46 per cent over the same period. A plot of land at Over near Gloucester which the Environment Agency are investigating for alleged persistent fly-tipping Pictured: More than 200 tonnes of fly-tipped rubbish on land in St Oswolds, GloucesterIt added that the number of smokers buying black market tobacco doubled between 2023 and 2025, with 32.3 per cent of cigarettes now counterfeit. Meanwhile, predictions that alcohol duty would raise £14.2billion in the 2024/5 financial year did not materialise – and receipts fell to £12.4billion in 2025/6, it added.The IEA said that the combined revenue from alcohol, tobacco and landfill duties came in £5.2billion below Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts in 2024/5.Despite repeated tax rises, the think-tank highlighted how the duties had raised £3.2billion less than they did in 2021/2.Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics for the IEA who compiled the report, insisted that 'there comes a point when squeezing taxpayers harder simply stops working'.He said: 'Excessive taxes are not only costing the Treasury billions in lost revenue, they are creating lucrative opportunities for criminals and making illegal waste dumping more attractive.'Mr Snowdon suggested that ahead of the Budget on October 28, 'the Government should recognise that endlessly raising tax rates does not guarantee more revenue', adding: 'As even the OBR acknowledges with cigarette duty, some taxes have already been pushed too far.'Local authorities were earlier this year handed powers to impose penalties of up to £5,000 on those caught fly-tipping.