It is probably not something any of those in the list want reminding of - but The Sunday Times has ranked Britain's Top 50 taxpayers and the millions each pays annually.

And riding high on the list is a certain Gloucestershire businessman and resident who according to those who compiled the Times' article will have given HMRC a cool £23.4million.

Before you start feeling too sorry for Julian Dunkerton (although we admit we had to sit down after reading the amount ourselves), the man known to all on sundry in Gloucestershire for founding county-based fashion brand Superdry is not short of a bob or too.

The national newspaper's glossy magazine list, published yesterday (January 27), estimates Mr Dunkerton's personal wealth at £441 million.

"The Cheltenham-based Superdry brand paid out £47.8 million of tax in 2017-18 and dividends of £24 million at a point when Dunkerton, 53, owned 25.4 per cent of the business," said the authors of the report.

"We ascribe £12.1 million of the business taxes and £2.3 million tax on dividends to him. He subsequently sold £98 million of shares in two tranches - deals liable for £8.9m of tax."

To try to give the £23.4 million some context the magazine suggests it could buy the nation "1,536 army recruits - or 1.3 million Superdry Vintage Logo Lite T-shirts".

The Sunday Times small print notes that the list does have some obvious absentees - not least Lord Bamford, owner of JCB Service and a Cotswold resident.

Lord Bamford, who also appears on the Sunday Times Rich List, will have seen JCB ay £43 million in taxes last year, but all overseas. In the UK it paid just £5.6 million - "insufficient to make our list", said the Times. Its list does not include taxes paid overseas.

As a caveat the times also states that "the figures quotes are likely to be conservative estimates of total tax paid".

Back with Mr Dunkerton - according to the Times's Business section of the same day the Cheltenham businessman has enlisted the help of Boohoo's chairman, Peter Williams, as he battles to get himself back onto the board of Superdry.

"Dunkerton has vowed to call an extraordinary meeting so investors can vote on his mooted reinstatement in the next few weeks," said the newspaper.