Paying for Coronavirus - why isn't the Government talking about taxing the rich more?

[Chicchicchicchiclana]

Obvious answer is, the Government is a Tory Government so it goes against all their principles.

But why not tax the super rich another 5p in the pound? And the medium rich another 2 or 3p?

Or how about asking people who are supremely wealthy and have masses in savings and property and pensions and trust funds for their children volunteer to live on £2000 a month for a year and donate the rest of it into a pot?

Really ... why not?

Ultra rich people are not resident in the Uk. They make sure they are out of the country for 180 days a year. You don't understand how it works.

So if we are prepared to pay a bit more (joint income £90,000 in good times, more like £60,000 this year) why can't other people who are hundreds or thousands of times better off than us?*

You don't get to be that rich by being a nice kind person OP 🤷🏻‍♀️

Just on the note of drs in London. You can be in that group and earning 63k a year 15 years post qualification. This group is already quite well taxed...

It's nit about the ultra rich but yeah whatever,

When I left school, my aim in life was to become a higher rate taxpayer. If you're paying £1000pw in tax you're very fortunate.

However, taxing the very rich doesn't raise any additional revenue. They are the most adept at paying very little tax, no matter what tax regime exists.

Because it's not going to raise as much as you hope it will.

The rich you are thinking about are already taxed more than enough. The super rich are super mobile, so it won't work.

Tax Amazon, tax everybody instead of going full on Corbynista Labour.

What if people can't live on £2000 a month because of school fees etc? I can see where you're coming from but it's not entirely feasible. The middle rich are already taxed a lot. Perhaps getting some of the more tax avoidant to pay tax would make a tiny dent but it'll never be enough.

If I’m only going to be “allowed” £2000 per month, then I think I’ll drop to PT and only work 3 days per week rather than working the extra 2 days per week for free. I’ll cut my income and cut my stress and cut my tax bill.

See the problem with your proposal yet OP?

Along with taxing the rich more, I think they would be better off closing loop holes that allow corporations, some celebrities and sportsman to pay very little tax over here. Corporations doing well out of COVID should pay for it. I

As pp have said if you are happy with telling high earners how much they can live off of per month would you be happy with a similar percentage cut to your income?

So if we are prepared to pay a bit more (joint income £90,000 in good times, more like £60,000 this year) why can't other people who are hundreds or thousands of times better off than us?

Would you be prepared to pay the tax bill for an income of £90000 when you’re income has dropped to £60000? Because that’s effectively what you’re asking people to do, isn’t it? (i.e. pay a tax bill that used to be associated with a higher income point).

How much do you think a reasonable tax rate is for the middle rich? If you earn above £100000, then your personal allowance tapers - so people are already paying income tax at an effective rate of 60% on their earnings between £100000 and £125000.

There are also plans for a new congestion zone in London, big TFL ticket and train rises, and more council tax.

There is only so much you can squeeze out of the "middle rich", which mostly are targeted.

Too simplistic OP. As others have said, there are not enough "rich" people to pay the amount of tax you are looking for. The masses in the middle will need to play more, that's you, so it's helpful that you are willing and able to pay it.

Why not just cancel HS2 ..thats £70bn in the coffers straight away ? Its already been proved the benefits have been massively overstated and it will only get more expensive...

The tax rate should go up for everyone. I don’t earn enough to pay tax (government cuts mean I earn less and less each year), but DH is a higher rate taxpayer and would be happy to pay more it was ACROSS THE BOARD. Why should only higher (and above) tax payers have to pay extra when it’s the whole country that has been effected.

Despite my non taxpayer levels, DH already pays more tax than two people earning more than our joint income AND we would have to pay back all the child benefit I qualify for so we stopped claiming.

It’s not only the “so called” rich that should be paying.

The rich might already be paying higher rates of tax but put into context they can afford it. Putting their tax up is a drop in the ocean to them. They have slightly less money to spend, boo hoo. They already have more than enough, they already have everything they need and more. They can afford it without too much of a lifestyle change. They have excess.

If taxes go up for everyone, including the middle earners and low earners, that isn't a drop in the ocean to their incomes. It is a difference between being able to pay their bills/mortgage or not, between poverty and not, between offering the best they can to their child and not. That's why not everyone should pay more. Those who are high earners and will see minimal difference to their lives should pay for it.

COVID has probably affected the rich in the least out of everyone I would imagine. Why should those most badly hit pay for that.

I think the middle class, like me and DH, will get hit. It always seems that way.

@Chicchicchicchiclana not sure what you are suggesting from your description of “the rich”. Should all people who stay at the savoy or shop at Harrods be taxed more? How? An income tax? An extra duty on those businesses?

Unfortunately as a pp already said, the highest earners already contribute a hugely disproportionate amount. Also there aren’t enough ultra rich to raise enough money- people in the middle need to be taxed.

If they taxed the very rich more on businesses and assets and closed the tax loop holes for cooperations and celebrities, such as Facebook and Amazon then it would raise enough. It is shocking how little tax these multi million/billionaire companies pay.