Taxes in Britain are particularly skewed to property, which raise 4.2 per cent of GDP

Britain’s tax burden is catching up with the “big government” countries of Europe as it closes in on a 49-year high.

Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development show that tax in the UK as a share of GDP hit 33.3 per cent in 2017, a rise of 0.6 percentage points over the previous year that put the UK 20th of the global think tank’s 36 member states.

By comparison, the average tax burden across the OECD rose by 0.2 percentage points to 34.2 per cent.

The figures from the Paris-based club of wealthier nations underscore how Britain’s economic model has begun to shift closer to mirroring the social democracies of Europe, which are notable for the size of the state. Higher state