Paying Their Way. The fiscal contribution of immigrants in the UK

Article

This paper seeks to fill a gap in the public understanding of the actual impact of immigration on public finances. Its remakable findings show the full scale of the contributions made by immigrants to government revenue and expenditure.

In recent years the issue of immigration has risen rapidly up the public agenda. Some 61 per cent of the population now believe that there are too many immigrants living in Britain.

Yet much of the public's concern about immigration seems to be based on an exaggeration of the scale of immigration and a belief that immigrants are a drain on the public purse.

This paper seeks to fill a gap in the public understanding of the actual impact of immigration on public finances, by estimating the scale of, and changes in, the contributions made by immigrants to government revenue and expenditure.

The remarkable findings in this paper show that

understanding the fiscal impact of migration is a crucial part of the wider challenge of understanding the dynamics of migration.

Related items

  1. A mother and child from behind looking out of a window

    Restoring security: Understanding the effects of removing the two-child limit across the UK

    The government’s decision to lift the two-child limit marks one of the most significant changes to the social security system in a decade.
  2. A group of healthcare professionals sitting in a staff common room in a hospital in Newcastle

    Building a healthier, wealthier Britain: Launching the IPPR Centre for Health and Prosperity

    Following the success of our Commission on Health and Prosperity, IPPR is excited to launch the Centre for Health and Prosperity.
  3. The Home Office building in London

    A ‘paradigm shift’ in asylum and immigration policy?

    In 2019, a package of asylum reforms known as the ‘paradigm shift’ was passed by a broad party consensus in the Danish parliament.