Everyone’s talking about wealth taxes

The short answer is because they’re more necessary than ever, more popular than ever, and because people like you have fought harder than ever to put them on the political agenda.

Now, we’re probably closer than ever to turning that pressure into policy.

The long answer

While our public services have been decimated and inequality has soared, the UK’s super-rich have accumulated record levels of wealth in recent years.

About a month ago, the government went some way to meeting these public priorities by announcing sizable public spending commitments. Since then, the public has also forced the government into walking back a number of planned cuts to social security.

Most of those in Westminster have now recognised that further cuts to crucial public services won’t be accepted. So, the government must come up with a taxation plan to pay for it in the Autumn budget.

An obvious alternative

Together, our campaigning has made it clear: there is a viable alternative to crumbling schools and long hospital waiting lists.

From writing to your MP, and donating to power our hundreds of media hits and interventions, to sharing our policies and messages, you have helped us build the momentum for greater taxes on extreme wealth.

Thanks to our long-term campaigning, the momentum behind a wealth tax has grown steadily among politicians, unions, journalists, and NGOs. We are convincing MPs and making this alternative clear to the Government.

The UK could raise over £60billion from just 10 common sense tax reforms targeting those most able to pay. At the top of this list is a wealth tax on assets exceeding £10 million. This would require individuals with total wealth above this threshold to pay a 2% tax on the excess. So, if you had a net worth of £11m, you would pay just 2% — a tiny fraction — on the £1m above the threshold.

This exact wealth tax could raise £24 billion a year, without impacting 99.96% of the UK population, only the very richest.

The Government could also reform Capital Gains Tax so income from wealth is taxed the same as income from work, and tackle profit-shifting by large multinationals who avoid paying tax.

Tipping point

At the weekend, ex-Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock, backed such a wealth tax, and called on the current Labour PM to implement it. According to YouGov 75% of people agree with him, and support wealth taxes— with support consistent across the political spectrum, including majorities of Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and Reform voters.

But the tiny minority of vested interests who don’t want taxes on the super-rich, have outsized wealth, power and influence.

That’s why billionaire-backed newspapers are churning out reams of panicked op-eds, pedalling scare-mongering fictions: from the persisent myth of the “millionaire exodus”, to misrepresentations about who they would impact, and overblown claims about implementation impracticalities.

As always, we’ve been pushing back and making the case wherever we can. Our Deputy Director Jake Woodier joined Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5Live. And our friends at Patriotic Millionaires UK saw one of their members write for LBC about why they’d be proud to pay a wealth tax.

We may not have the same resources as the tax-shy super-rich we’re taking on, but together we have the power to shape the political agenda. We need to make sure that come the Autumn Budget, the Government taxes the super rich and giant corporations— rather than making more unnecessary cuts.