A recent report by the Sunday Times looked at the people who pay the most taxes in the UK. They ranked 100 individuals based on how much they contribute to public finances. This includes things like tax on business profits, share sales, and personal income. The report found that two-thirds of the people on the list paid less tax in 2023 compared to the previous year.

The person who paid the most tax was Alex Gerko, a billionaire and financial trader. He paid around £664.5 million in taxes for the year. Gerko is known for starting a trading company called XTX Markets. Other famous names on the list include Bernie Ecclestone, the former boss of Formula 1, and Denise Coates, who runs a gambling company called Bet365.

The report also mentioned that some people on the list shared their tax information with the newspaper. However, the government agency that deals with taxes doesn’t comment on individual cases, so we can’t be sure if the estimates in the report are accurate. The list showed that many of the top taxpayers live in London and the south-east of England.

The report also mentioned some celebrities who made the list. Author JK Rowling paid £40 million in taxes, while singer Ed Sheeran paid over £36 million. Even heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua paid more than £12 million in taxes. The report ended by saying that the Hinduja family, who were the richest people in the UK last year, didn’t make the tax list because their wealth comes from businesses outside of the country.

Original news source: JK Rowling and Ed Sheeran estimated to be among UK’s highest tax payers (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, read the article and summarize the main points in 3-4 sentences. Share your summaries with the class and discuss any differences or similarities.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write three statements related to the article on the board, such as “The wealthy should pay more taxes,” “Celebrities should not have to disclose their tax information,” and “Tax evasion is a major problem.” Have students stand on a spectrum from strongly agree to strongly disagree based on their opinions. Give them a few minutes to discuss their reasoning with a partner before sharing with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Give each team a set of vocabulary words from the article (e.g. billionaire, taxes, estimate, gambling). One person from each team comes to the front and must draw a picture to represent one of the words. The team members must guess the word within a certain time limit. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: In pairs, students create a catchy headline for the article. Encourage them to be creative and use vocabulary from the article. After a few minutes, have pairs share their headlines with the class and discuss which ones they find most interesting or attention-grabbing.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: In small groups, students discuss and make predictions about the future of taxation and the wealthiest individuals in the UK based on the information in the article. They can consider questions like: Will taxes continue to decrease for the wealthy? Will there be more transparency in tax reporting? Will new celebrities and businesspeople emerge on the list? Each group presents their predictions to the class and engages in a discussion.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did the recent report by the Sunday Times focus on?
2. How were the individuals on the list ranked?
3. Who was the person who paid the most tax in the UK?
4. What is Alex Gerko known for?
5. Which famous names were also on the list?
6. Why can’t we be sure if the estimates in the report are accurate?
7. Where do many of the top taxpayers live?
8. Which celebrities were mentioned in the report and how much tax did they pay?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A recent report by the Sunday Times looked at the people who pay the most taxes in the UK. They ranked 100 individuals (1)______ on how much they contribute to public finances. This includes things like tax on (2)______ profits, share (3)______, and personal income. The report (4)______ that two-thirds of the people on the list paid less tax in 2023 compared to the previous year.

The person who paid the most tax was Alex (5)______, a billionaire and financial trader. He paid around £664.5 million in taxes for the year. Gerko is known for (6)______ a trading company called XTX (7)______. Other famous names on the list (8)______ Bernie Ecclestone, the former boss of Formula 1, and Denise Coates, who runs a gambling company called Bet365.

The report also mentioned that some people on the list shared their tax (9)______ with the newspaper. However, the government agency that deals with taxes doesn’t comment on individual cases, so we can’t be sure if the estimates in the report are (10)______. The list (11)______ that many of the top (12)______ live in London and the south-east of England.

The report also mentioned some celebrities who made the list. Author JK Rowling paid £40 million in taxes, while (13)______ Ed Sheeran paid over £36 million. Even heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua paid more than £12 million in taxes. The (14)______ ended by saying that the Hinduja family, who were the (15)______ people in the UK last year, didn’t make the tax list because their (16)______ comes from businesses outside of the country.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a billionaire?
2. How do you think it feels to pay £664.5 million in taxes?
3. Do you think it’s fair that some people on the list paid less tax than the previous year? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you were a celebrity and had to pay millions of pounds in taxes?
5. Do you like Formula 1? Why or why not?
6. What is a trading company?
7. How do you think it feels to be one of the top taxpayers in the UK?
8. Do you think it’s important for wealthy individuals to pay a lot of taxes? Why or why not?
9. How would you feel if you were a famous author like JK Rowling and had to pay £40 million in taxes?
10. Do you like gambling? Why or why not?
11. How do you think it feels to be a celebrity and have your tax information shared with the public?
12. Do you think it’s fair for celebrities to pay more taxes than average people? Why or why not?
13. How would you feel if you were a heavyweight boxer like Anthony Joshua and had to pay over £12 million in taxes?
14. Do you think it’s fair that the Hinduja family didn’t make the tax list because their wealth comes from businesses outside of the country? Why or why not?
15. How do you think it feels to be one of the richest people in the UK?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. report
2. contribute
3. finances
4. billionaire
5. trader
6. profits
7. estimates
8. agency
9. individual
10. accurate
11. taxpayers
12. celebrities
13. heavyweight
14. Hinduja
15. businesses

Meanings:
(A) People who give a portion of their income to the government, usually through taxes
(B) A boxer who competes in the heaviest class, typically weighing more than 200 pounds
(C) A detailed account or statement about something that has been observed or researched
(D) A person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of currency
(E) Money matters, especially the managing of income and expenses
(F) Correct, precise, and without any mistakes
(G) Referring to a person as a separate and distinct individual
(H) Rough calculations or judgments about something, not necessarily exact
(I) Companies or commercial enterprises that buy and sell goods or services
(J) Someone who buys and sells goods, currency, or stocks as a job
(K) An organization or department that provides a specific service for the community or government
(L) Famous people, especially those in entertainment or sports
(M) A family name, often associated with a particular group of people known for their wealth or influence
(N) To give or add something, such as money or help, to a common fund or cause
(O) The money that is made in a business, after paying the costs of producing and selling goods and services
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did the recent report by the Sunday Times rank individuals based on?
(a) How much money they have
(b) How much they contribute to public finances
(c) How many businesses they own
(d) How many taxes they avoid paying

2. Who paid the most tax according to the report?
(a) Bernie Ecclestone
(b) Denise Coates
(c) Alex Gerko
(d) The Hinduja family

3. What is Alex Gerko known for?
(a) Being a famous author
(b) Running a gambling company called Bet365
(c) Being the former boss of Formula 1
(d) Starting a trading company called XTX Markets

4. Did the majority of people on the list pay more or less tax in 2023 compared to the previous year?
(a) Less tax
(b) More tax
(c) The same amount of tax
(d) It is not mentioned in the article

5. Did the government agency that deals with taxes comment on the accuracy of the report?
(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) It is not mentioned in the article
(d) Some individuals shared their tax information with the agency

6. Where do many of the top taxpayers live according to the report?
(a) Scotland and Wales
(b) Northern Ireland and the Midlands
(c) London and the south-east of England
(d) The report does not specify

7. Which celebrity paid the most tax according to the report?
(a) JK Rowling
(b) Ed Sheeran
(c) Anthony Joshua
(d) The Hinduja family

8. Why did the Hinduja family not make the tax list?
(a) They did not pay any taxes
(b) They refused to disclose their tax information
(c) The report did not include billionaires on the list
(d) Their wealth comes from businesses outside of the country

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The Sunday Times recently published a report about the top taxpayers in the UK.
2. The person who paid the most tax was Alex Gerko, a billionaire and financial trader.
3. Some celebrities like JK Rowling, Ed Sheeran, and Anthony Joshua were excluded from the report for their tax contributions.
4. Gerko paid around £664.5 million in taxes for the year.
5. The report ranked 100 individuals based on how little they contribute to public finances.
6. Two-thirds of the people on the list paid more tax in 2023 compared to the previous year.
7. The Hinduja family, the richest people in the UK last year, did not make the tax list because their wealth comes from businesses outside of the country.
8. Bernie Ecclestone, the current boss of Formula 1, and Denise Coates, who runs Bet365, were also on the list.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. Who paid the most tax in the UK according to the report?
2. What is the name of the trading company started by Alex Gerko?
3. Did all of the people on the tax list share their tax information with the newspaper?
4. Where do many of the top taxpayers live in the UK?
5. Why didn’t the Hinduja family make the tax list?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. The recent report by the Sunday Times focused on the people who pay the most taxes in the UK.
2. The individuals on the list were ranked based on how much they contribute to public finances, including tax on business profits, share sales, and personal income.
3. The person who paid the most tax in the UK was Alex Gerko, a billionaire and financial trader.
4. Alex Gerko is known for starting a trading company called XTX Markets.
5. Other famous names on the list included Bernie Ecclestone, the former boss of Formula 1, and Denise Coates, who runs a gambling company called Bet365.
6. We can’t be sure if the estimates in the report are accurate because the government agency that deals with taxes doesn’t comment on individual cases.
7. Many of the top taxpayers live in London and the south-east of England.
8. The celebrities mentioned in the report were author JK Rowling, who paid £40 million in taxes, singer Ed Sheeran, who paid over £36 million, and heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua, who paid more than £12 million in taxes.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) based
(2) business
(3) sales
(4) found
(5) Gerko
(6) starting
(7) Markets
(8) include
(9) information
(10) accurate
(11) showed
(12) taxpayers
(13) singer
(14) report
(15) richest
(16) wealth
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. report
Answer: (C) A detailed account or statement about something that has been observed or researched

2. contribute
Answer: (N) To give or add something, such as money or help, to a common fund or cause

3. finances
Answer: (E) Money matters, especially the managing of income and expenses

4. billionaire
Answer: (D) A person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of currency

5. trader
Answer: (J) Someone who buys and sells goods, currency, or stocks as a job

6. profits
Answer: (O) The money that is made in a business, after paying the costs of producing and selling goods and services

7. estimates
Answer: (H) Rough calculations or judgments about something, not necessarily exact

8. agency
Answer: (K) An organization or department that provides a specific service for the community or government

9. individual
Answer: (G) Referring to a person as a separate and distinct individual

10. accurate
Answer: (F) Correct, precise, and without any mistakes

11. taxpayers
Answer: (A) People who give a portion of their income to the government, usually through taxes

12. celebrities
Answer: (L) Famous people, especially those in entertainment or sports

13. heavyweight
Answer: (B) A boxer who competes in the heaviest class, typically weighing more than 200 pounds

14. Hinduja
Answer: (M) A family name, often associated with a particular group of people known for their wealth or influence

15. businesses
Answer: (I) Companies or commercial enterprises that buy and sell goods or services
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did the recent report by the Sunday Times rank individuals based on?
Answer: (b) How much they contribute to public finances

2. Who paid the most tax according to the report?
Answer: (c) Alex Gerko

3. What is Alex Gerko known for?
Answer: (d) Starting a trading company called XTX Markets

4. Did the majority of people on the list pay more or less tax in 2023 compared to the previous year?
Answer: (a) Less tax

5. Did the government agency that deals with taxes comment on the accuracy of the report?
Answer: (b) No

6. Where do many of the top taxpayers live according to the report?
Answer: (c) London and the south-east of England

7. Which celebrity paid the most tax according to the report?
Answer: (a) JK Rowling

8. Why did the Hinduja family not make the tax list?
Answer: (d) Their wealth comes from businesses outside of the country
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The Sunday Times recently published a report about the top taxpayers in the UK. (Answer: True)
2. The person who paid the most tax was Alex Gerko, a billionaire and financial trader. (Answer: True)
3. Some celebrities like JK Rowling, Ed Sheeran, and Anthony Joshua were excluded from the report for their tax contributions. (Answer: False)
4. Gerko paid around £664.5 million in taxes for the year. (Answer: True)
5. The report ranked 100 individuals based on how little they contribute to public finances. (Answer: False)
6. Two-thirds of the people on the list paid more tax in 2023 compared to the previous year. (Answer: False)
7. The Hinduja family, the richest people in the UK last year, did not make the tax list because their wealth comes from businesses outside of the country. (Answer: True)
8. Bernie Ecclestone, the current boss of Formula 1, and Denise Coates, who runs Bet365, were also on the list. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧