Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey has called on the government to impose a wealth tax to properly fund “bread-and-butter services that hold our society together.”
The Labour MP recently penned an article urging for wealth taxes on the UK’s richest people and explained that “they are urgently needed” to prevent the “unfair and unsustainable” accumulation of wealth by billionaires.
The piece read: “The case for a wealth tax is not about envy. It is about justice, stability, and the proper funding of the bread-and-butter services that hold our society together. A fair economy is one in which everyone contributes according to their ability, and where those with the broadest shoulders carry the greatest burden.
“At present, the opposite is true. Working people are taxed heavily compared with their wages, while accumulated wealth, often unearned, is barely touched. Our tax system is riddled with loopholes and imbalances that favour wealth over work.”
Rebecca described how she has been following the work of Patriotic Millionaires UK, who believe paying a fair amount of tax is an act of patriotism, with some of their proposals including:
‘2% annual wealth tax on assets above £10 million: affecting only around 20,000 people, it could raise £24 billion a year.’
‘Equalising capital gains tax with income tax and closing loopholes: fair treatment of income from wealth could raise £16.7 billion a year.’
‘Applying National Insurance to investment income: taxing dividends and rental income like wages could raise £10.2 billion a year.’
Long-Bailey continued: “The choice we face could not be clearer. Do we accept a Britain where pensioners face shivering in their homes while billionaires cruise in private jets untaxed? A Britain where disabled people see cuts in income while landlords and speculators see their wealth balloon tax-free? Or do we choose fairness, justice, and decency?
“Wealth taxes are not only sensible, they are urgently needed. They are the key to unlocking the resources required to build an NHS fit for the future, deliver schools that inspire, create green jobs, and ensure that no child grows up in poverty”.
Long-Bailey finished her statement by saying: “Britain is not broke. The problem is that wealth is hoarded at the very top, shielded from taxation, while working people are made to pay the price of crisis after crisis. That is a political failure over many decades — and it is one we can and must put right as a Labour Government.”
Earlier this year, Conservative Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Mel Stride claimed that tax forgone as a consequence of departures by the wealthy is equal to the tax paid by around half a million people on average earnings. “The Labour party has no plan to stem that exodus of talent and wealth creation”, he claimed during a call for Labour ministers to rule out introducing a wealth tax.
At the recent Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Leader Kemi Badenoch pledged to abolish stamp duty if they win the next general election. This comes after they predicted Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce “dramatic tax increases in the November budget.”
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