The annual Sunday Times Tax List 2021 revealed that Fred and Peter Done, founders of Betfred, paid the third highest tax in the country. Many individuals on the list paid less in tax compared to the previous year. However, Denise, John, and Peter Coates – co-chief executives and chairman of Bet365 – experienced a significant increase in their tax bill. It more than doubled from £276m in the 2018-19 fiscal year to £573m in 2019-20. This change in amount was partially due to the inclusion of betting duty in the measured taxes. As a result of this change, Fred and Peter Done jumped from 22nd to third on this year’s list, with a tax bill of £191m – a significant increase from their previous bill of £44.5m.
In the case of the Coates family, over £200m of their tax payment was from corporation and payroll taxes. General Betting Duty, taxes on dividends, and salaries accounted for the remainder. According to The Sunday Times, the wealth of Peter Coates would be sufficient to fund 67,725 state pensions for a year. On the other hand, the Done brothers paid £127.2m in various gambling duties, including General Betting Duty, Machine Gaming Duty, and Gaming Duty. Additionally, they paid £25.6m in corporation and payroll taxes and £3.9m in taxes on dividends. The Coates family was estimated to have a total wealth of £7.10bn, making them the fourth-wealthiest on the 50-member list. In comparison, the Done brothers had a net worth of £1.20bn.
