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The rich are getting richer from the war on Iran

The US‑Israeli war on Iran is creating a deepening regional humanitarian crisis and global economic crisis. Unless we act, in the UK, ordinary people here will again bear the costs while a tiny elite of corporations and super‑rich individuals reap huge profits from chaos abroad and hardship at home.

This week the IMF forecast that the UK would be the hardest hit major economy due to its unique dependence on imported oil and gas. And it’s already starting to feel like it. Prices at the pump have already shot up, household heating bills are expected to jump again in June, while farmers are warning that inflated costs of both fuel and agricultural inputs (⅓ of the world’s key fertiliser chemicals pass through the Strait of Hormuz) will send food prices soaring.

That’s bad news for most of us. In fact new polling from Survation shows 83% are worried about their bills. But for banks, arms companies and energy giants it means bumper profits; as oil prices surge, interest rates increase, and orders pile in for bombs and weapons. A few weeks ago, we organised 40 organisations and unions across the UK, to call on the Prime Minister and Chancellor and put an end to this corporate profiteering.

Since then the news has been filled with calls to cut taxes on oil and gas companies. And Trump has told Starmer to try and drill his way out of the crisis. But we’re not buying it, and neither are you. We don’t need to increase our dependence on volatile fossil fuels— we need to end it. And price-gouging fossil fuel companies don’t need another helping hand, we do. Fortunately the UK public has seen through these false solutions: 53% polled said it would be wrong to scrap the windfall tax, with just 22% actually supporting ending it.

It’s time to get tough with the profiteers— and make those who’ve used instability and crisis to rip people off and enrich themselves pay to support households struggling with soaring energy bills, and to fund the UK’s shift to stable, self‑sufficient, environmentally responsible renewable energies.

Raise taxes on companies profiteering from Iran war

Tell the government that we won’t stand for getting ripped off so corporates can keep making a killing.

Sign our petition

False solutions

“The UK won’t accept profiteering on war on crisis.” That’s exactly what we told the Mirror recently in a front-page splash. The article mainly covered research from our friends at the End Fuel Poverty Coalition showing how some super-rich individuals have seen their fossil-fuel invested wealth grow by millions since the start of the crisis.

Shareholders and investors in these profiteering industries will be laughing all the way to the bank. Because higher stock prices means a big pay day. In fact, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are already reporting huge profit surges. And, as if that wasn’t unfair enough, they’ll pay less tax on their windfall, than you will on your stagnant wages. That’s because in the UK, taxes on income from work are higher than taxes on income from wealth (Capital Gains Tax). That’s one of the reasons the rich keep getting richer, while the rest of us struggle.

And it’s not just the fact that the highest tax rate on capital gains is 24%, whilst the highest rate on work is 45%. Those of us that work for a living also have to pay taxes like NICs, whilst those that collect shareholder returns, don’t. This system means those of us who work or receive social security payments like pensions, often end up paying the same or often even higher than most multimillionaires and billionaires. That’s how former PM Rishi Sunak ended up paying the same effective tax rate as a nurse or teacher in 2023— despite an income 52x higher.

With your help, we’ve been campaigning to close the loopholes and redress these imbalances, by equalising capital gains tax with income tax (and adding NICs to income from investments). We’ve made some progress, such as seeing CGT rates rise in 2024, but there’s still work to do. Which is why we need the Tax Justice People’s Lobby to keep raising its voice in every corner of the country.

Register to Vote

And what better time to raise your voice than at the upcoming local elections, and national elections in Scotland and Wales. Across the UK thousands upon thousands of new councillors will be elected, while Scotland and Wales will have whole new governments in Cardiff Bay and Holyrood.

This is a vital time to participate in the democratic process and have your say on the issues that matter most to you. There’s only a handful of days left to ensure you can cast your ballot. The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 20 April. Divisive forces and vested interests want nothing more than people to stay at home, so they have the best chance of influencing elections toward their own ends. But when people turn out in force, democracy wins and enforces checks and balances on the super-rich and powerful. So do make sure to register to vote and have your say. It takes just 5 minutes to do, and then you can have your say on 7 May.

REGISTER TO VOTE