Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who draw dividends in lieu of a salary from a Limited Company in the UK.

HMRC administrative data does not cover the sources of dividend income. It is therefore not possible to determine accurately the number of individuals who have taken dividend income in lieu of a salary from Limited Companies.

HMRC publish statistics on the number of taxpayers receiving dividend income and the amounts received for tax years from 2010-11 to 2017-18. These statistics do not distinguish between dividends paid as salary, and dividends received as returns from investments. These statistics are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/investment-income-2010-to-2011.