Hello! My name is Faiza

It’s my first week as the new Executive Director at Tax Justice UK. What a time to join! The government is exploring various tax raising options as it desperately tries to rescue its self-imposed fiscal rule; and recent polling on voting intentions shows the traditional two-party political landscape is breaking down before our eyes. In this context, it is all to play for.

But progressive change doesn’t come easily, especially when you’re fighting those with deep pockets.

Whilst recent polling reveals 75% of the public now supports a wealth tax, and progressive parties are gaining support, the media are in overdrive attacking any suggestion of new taxes on the super-rich, and far right parties like Reform are on the rise as well. That’s why your support is so valued, and so needed.

Listening to mainstream conversations about taxes lately, you might think that taxes are simply about funding public services. Vital though this is, the power of tax is much greater. The tax system is a tool for shaping the economy and society we want, and crucially for eroding the dangerous concentration of wealth into the hands of a tiny minority.

The UK’s richest 50 families now own more wealth than the poorest half of the entire population— that’s more wealth than 34 million people combined. This stark reality is further compounded by the fact that billionaire wealth in the UK has skyrocketed by over 1000% since 1990.

Wealth inequality isn’t merely an abstract issue of fairness or greed. Wealth inequality is undermining our democracy by concentrating political influence in the hands of a few. It’s undermining economic prosperity by stifling the spending power of the majority, and by diverting capital from productive investment into speculative assets— contributing to soaring house prices and energy bills for instance.

Wealth inequality is perpetuating cycles of disadvantage, making the poor poorer. And, it is visibly breaking down our social glue, creating opportunities for cynical politicians to enrich and empower themselves by fuelling hate, resentment and distrust, and deepening divisions within society.

This is why it is so important that we continue to stand up for a wealth tax, alongside other tax reforms— no matter how hard it gets. As the likelihood of more taxes on the richest increases, so too do the efforts to divide and distract us.

We are seeing an explosion of articles now talking about an “exodus” of rich people. These claims are based on flimsy, unverified numbers designed to scaremonger.

Simultaneously, we are being bombarded with a narrative that suggests there are too many immigrants and people on benefits. This is not a coincidence; these narratives are deliberately deployed by those with vested interests to deflect attention from systemic wealth inequality, and deflate the momentum building towards taxing the super-rich fairly.

Over the coming months, we will be ramping up our efforts, taking the message to the media, and lobbying decision makers, to highlight the undeniable case for a fairer tax system and to champion policies that truly serve the public good. But we need to keep growing our movement.