• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

A one-off ‘wealth tax’ could raise £260bn, says Commission

The tax on millionaire couples paid at 1 per cent a year for five years "would work, raise significant revenue, and be fairer and more efficient than the alternatives.”

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
2020-12-09 08:10
in News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

A one-off “wealth tax” should be implemented in preference to increasing general taxes on work or spending, a report has recommended.

This should happen if the Government decides to raise taxes as part of its response to the Covid-19 crisis, the Wealth Tax Commission, a body made up of academics, policymakers and tax practitioners said.

There have already been indications that the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated existing financial inequalities.

People in professional or managerial jobs may have found it easier to continue their work from home during the pandemic than some people in lower-paid jobs where home working is not an option. And struggling sectors such as hospitality and retail contain many employees on relatively low incomes.

Precedent

The Commission said a wealth tax on millionaire couples paid at 1 per cent a year for five years could raise £260 billion. It said one-off taxes have been used after major crises before.

The Commission said that setting a threshold of £1 million per household – assuming it contains two people with £500,000 each, and a rate of 1 per cent per year on wealth above the threshold – a one-off wealth tax would raise £260 billion over five years, after administration costs.

The commission said this is equivalent to raising VAT by 6p or the basic rate of income tax by 9p for the same period.

RelatedPosts

As Post Office and BT workers to strike it’s worth watching this Mick Lynch and Eddie Dempsey interview

Train drivers industrial action on Saturday as NHS staff ‘prepared to strike’

Life’s a beach: Johnson isn’t taking Sunak’s calls as his £400k pool is installed

Good news for bloodthirsty toffs bad news for birds: Grouse shooting season begins

The suggested tax would include all assets such as main homes and pension pots, as well as business and financial wealth, but minus any debts such as mortgages. It would be paid by any UK resident, including “non doms”.

The commission also proposed an alternative whereby a threshold of £4 million would be set per household, assuming it contained two people with £2 million each, taxed at a rate of 1 per cent per year on wealth above the threshold.

It said that a one-off wealth tax in this scenario would raise £80 billion over five years after admin costs.

One-off tax “would work, raise significant revenue and be fairer”

The Wealth Tax Commission has also launched an interactive website – taxsimulator.ukwealth.tax – allowing people to make their own tax plan and see how much they would pay.

Dr Arun Advani, assistant professor at the University of Warwick said: “We’re often told that the only way to raise serious tax revenue is from income tax, national insurance contributions, or VAT. This simply isn’t the case, so it is a political choice where to get the money from, if and when there are tax rises.”

Emma Chamberlain, a barrister at Pump Court Tax Chambers, said: “The trouble is that our current way of taxing the wealthy is far too complicated leading to avoidance and resentment. We need a better way forward.”

Dr Andy Summers, associate professor at the London School of Economics said: “A one-off wealth tax would work, raise significant revenue, and be fairer and more efficient than the alternatives.”

Rebecca Gowland from Oxfam said: “It is morally repugnant to allow the poorest people to continue to pay the price for the crisis, when it is clear that a fair tax on the richest could make such a difference.”

Related: As Argentina votes through a millionaire’s tax, Britain gives them a leg up

Tags: headline

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

The Conservatives are trying to sneak constitutional reform in by the back door

Boris follows Sturgeon’s lead again following U-turn on mask-wearing in schools

In Pictures: Gorse fire blackens huge swathe of Devon countryside

Elevenses: Covid-19 is on the wane, nationalism isn’t

Swedemason releases hilarious new mashup of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Snoop Dogg

Former Greek finance minister makes appeal to humanise economics, saying “the strong do as they will and the weak suffer as they must”

Intimately Speaking: Looking Good ‘Down There’ Matters

Tories suffer humiliating defeat in Chesham and Amersham by-election

Restaurant Review: ULI

World’s first clean air gallery, featuring art made from air pollution, launches in Brixton

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.