Britain’s richest individuals and companies are costing taxpayers £13 billion a year, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has claimed.

It has published a pamphlet today claiming the effective rate of corporation tax is 22.5 per cent, significantly less than the proper 30 per cent rate, and has fallen by 0.5 per cent a year in the six years to 2006.

‘Super-rich’ individuals are also evading their "fair share" through investment income, shifting the income to others, moving transactions out of the UK and turning income into capital gain, the pamphlet says.