I am referring to tax from wealth not income tax from work, such things as capital gains tax on stocks and shares, property; company share buy backs etc. Note that capital gains tax in the U.K. is significantly lower than income tax. In the article I will link to below another suggestion is a very small levy (1%) on wealth above £10 million. The article also details the other areas I mentioned plus others such as inheritance tax loopholes. The main focus is on raising taxes on super rich people who derive their income from wealth.
https://www.taxjustice.uk/blog/six-wealth-tax-policies-to-raise-50-billion
Tax Justice also addresses in another article I will link too at the bottom of the post 12 objections critics raise against increasing tax on wealth such as the claim the very wealthy will leave the country if wealth taxes are raised. I will write out below 3 of the 12 in the article here:
“If wealth taxes are increased, won’t rich people just move abroad?
Studies have shown that most wealth holders who live in the UK have ties here, want to be here, and want to contribute as citizens. Tax levels are a minor factor in their decision to relocate in comparison to factors such as family and social ties, schooling, and overall economic stability. Our tax proposals would only lead to a very small amount payable relative to the net worth of people’s assets.
For example, the 1-2% tax (t j recommend a 1-2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million, raising up to £22 billion a year) would only apply to assets above the £10 million threshold. It would not tax assets below the £10 million threshold. This would mean someone with £11 million in assets would only pay £10,000 - £20,000 a year, because they would only be taxed on their assets between £10 - £11 million, not on anything below £10 million.
Existing evidence on reform of the non-dom status showed that increasing taxes on the super-rich led to a minimal number of individuals leaving the UK. Reforms in 2017, which restricted access to the non-dom regime, led to just 2% of those who had been in the UK for fewer than 3 years leaving, the number was significantly lower for those with longer- term ties to the UK.
Wealth taxes would be bad for the economy and business
There are many compelling arguments that higher taxation of wealth in the UK could contribute to a more dynamic economy and stimulate growth, and that extreme concentration of wealth has damaging economic effects. Investments made by the super-rich tend to be less productive than those made by working people. Investing in share buybacks and dividends, for example, diverts financial resources away from the ‘real’ economy and reduces productive investment.
With the UK having suffered decades of low productivity and wage stagnation, anincreasing number of academic studies are finding that fairer taxation of wealth is a path to a healthier and more dynamic economy. Redistribution can create a healthier economy in which working people have more financial freedom, thus raising demand for goods and services and benefiting British businesses and high streets. Tax Justice UK has set out how six changes to taxes on wealth could raise £50 billion annually to invest in health, education, research and development, and national infrastructure, creating a healthier and happier workforce and encouraging productivity growth.
We have the highest peacetime taxes in the country’s history, we can’t raise taxes anymore.
The level of taxes in the UK is about average compared to similar countries. Many European countries have much higher levels of tax than the UK. At Tax Justice UK, we don’t want to raise taxes on working people. We want to raise taxes on super rich people who derive their income from wealth. The effective tax rate on working people is the highest it’s ever been, while the richest in our society, whose wealth is ballooning by tens of billions of poundsevery year, pay a much lower tax rate. For example, Rishi Sunak, who earned nearly £2 million in 2021-22, has an effective tax rate of 22%, while an average doctor in London pays 40% in tax. This is because taxes on income from wealth are much lower than taxes on work, and the Prime Minister made most of his income from returns on dividends and capital gains.
In this context, the government has chosen to increase taxes on working people (by freezing income tax thresholds) rather than looking to the wealthiest. In fact even the wealthiest pay very different rates of tax, depending on the source of their wealth. A study found, the average person earning more than £2 million had an effective average tax rate of 40%, while the average person with total remuneration of £10 million from capital gains, has an effective tax rate of just 21%. It’s even unfair for the super-rich!
https://www.taxjustice.uk/blog/wealth-taxes-will-cause-the-rich-to-flee-11-wealth-tax-myths-debunked