AIBU to think a 2% wealth tax on the rich is unfair?

[Mrspepperpotpot]

i just saw an article and petition from oxfam saying if we taxed the ‘super rich’ 2% it would solve a lot of problems. They were suggesting 2% on anyone worth 10 million. Everyone in the comments agreed

I just don’t understand this mentality. High earners are hit at every turn. They usually use private health and private schools, pay the most tax, get hit with tax on savings, IHT, land tax, pensions etc etc Why on earth should people earn money to be taxed on it, to then be taxed on it again and again.

Why do people begrudge others having money when they’ve worked extremely hard to get it? Why isn’t there uproar about benefits instead?

I know this will never actually happen but the amount of people who seem to want it to is astonishing

I’d assume someone with £10m of assets is probably already paying a lot of tax - be that income tax, dividends, CGT.

The staff they employ, the things they buy - all probably adds up.

The risk is of course they leave, then no tax at all will be made from their activities.

I already know of several welathy families relocating outside of the UK in retirement to avoid IHT.

High earners and company owners will just move aboard. We have seen that happening already and it will continue. It’s short sighted thinking if you want to grow an economy.

Through tax they wouldn't get the choice not to pay...

If you're referring to business transactions then thats irrelevant to this.

There’s “improving your life” and then there’s being paid more money than most of us can ever possibly dream of. As PP said the idea that the super wealthy work 98% harder than the rest of us is clearly ludicrous. Wealth inequality has become so crazy - and not all super wealthy are selfish and don’t get this. There’s been an interesting series of social media videos of millionaires explaining just how small an amount of money this is to them and how much difference it would make. We do we celebrate selfishness in this country?!?

But isn’t that OP’s point? It’s optional to build up a large fortune through work, to opt for self-provision instead of relying on the state. Or, indeed, to choose to move to the UK rather than Dubai or HK.

If we discourage that too hard, we will end with a lot less tax revenue and a lot more costs.

The wealthy don’t just have loads of cash though - they have businesses that employ people, provide services, contribute to the economy, provide leisure facilities and hospitality. Many of those businesses are currently operating with very small margins.

So do you think they should put their prices up or cut jobs to pay for this tax?

The problem with such a tax is they can easily move (or just move their money) elsewhere, thus costing the treasury 100% of all the other taxes they pay.

It doesn't take many people to do this before the treasury is worse off.

Dan Neidle (Labour party plus tax analyst) talking now on taxes including this one. It’s unlikely and would be damaging.

We have 90 different taxes in the U.K. as people demand for more, on others.

What a miserable existence that must be.

The 75% over eur1m really didn’t work well for France under Hollande, the mere suggestion led to an exodus.

it may be unpalatable to many, but if you reduced the top rate over a high amount (say £250k to 25% with associated reductions in cgt etc), the UK would attract high earners who will still pay a lot in, help grow the economy and cost the state very little. They will employ others and you will get a growth multiplier, rather than a growth contraction,

Exactly. When your this minted you need to find something to spunk your money on.
And don’t underestimate the ability of the very rich to pay less tax than most MC earners either.

Many of their wives would agree. But they are workaholics obsessive about their businesses.

Terrible.

We should think of the billionaires, very carefully.

This country is massively reliant on tax paid by the highest earners (/most wealthy), who are often very highly mobile, often foreign, and sensitive to wealth taxes.

”Not thinking of the billionaires” when designing our tax regime is the quickest way to cratering our public services.

If you want a country less reliant on the top end for its finances, you need either much higher tax rates for the lower and middle earners, or to slash public spending.

If you have that much money you will also have the resources to benefit from all the tax loopholes with a good accountant. Your money is also more likely to be offshore in a tax free/low tax haven

I don't want to live in a society held hostage by super rich people not paying their far share threatening to leave if they're going to be taxed fairly.
Get a grip.

Because our society is aging and we have fewer people to pay income tax. Because taxing someone on the median income-around 37k- is not fair at all-especially when you add the student loan tax. Because the past decade has seen large asset price rises while wages have stagnated. Because more and more people are getting richer due to asset inflation rather than working.

Ok that’s fine. To get a grip, which route are you choosing?

Much higher taxes for low and middle earners?

Slash public services?

Or we can borrow to magnify the problem and pass it on to our children.

What are you going for?

If higher taxes are introduced in the UK they’ll look around at the world, wonder whether the UK really is the best option for them, and then they have enough money, contacts, knowledge etc to just decide to go live somewhere else
Look around, of course, but will they actually leave?

They'll have to find somewhere that taxes lower on wealth. Where is that?

Then it needs to offer the same advantages than the UK. Safety, culture, entertainment, social interactions, freedom, education, etc..

And of course, most importantly for most, family.

Some might go, some might look into and frightened to do it. How many will?

Sorry but that's not true. I worked for a co in the 80s, where the two founders worked ridiculous hours - like 12 to 14 hours a day, and time on Saturdays. It's all they did for about 6 years. I had never seen anything like it. There were five of us struggling to keep up with the admin to support them.

They both now sit in the super-rich category having taken the company public in the 90s.

They also still work full time despite having enough for luxury retirements. The company employs about 9,000 people now, here & abroad.

It's very simple, if we tax the super-rich more than other countries, they move their home base abroad. If you could afford to live in Barcelona and be taxed at 40% or live in London and pay 50%, which would you chose? We need people with that energy, focus and entrepreneurship in the UK.

Getting the balance right is essential or such a policy actually reduces our tax take.

Yep.

Exactly! - so if you keep taking away the incentives to work and grow businesses (which employ people) - then many will stop bothering

we need to look at ways to grow our economy back up, not hamper what we already have

and the farmer who has £10million in fields? He’ll sell a field to pay the tax - which sounds fine but who is he selling to?
is that field then still used to grow food for the UK? Or owned by an overseas interest?

we are losing control over our own food production and that doesn’t seem to be getting enough airspace

I agree with you OP this whole issue annoys me more than ANYTHING in all of politics, actually it makes me really bloody angry!! I despise the penalising success to reward the lazy system our country has adopted and before anyone gets irate I am NOT talking about stopping benefits for the disabled.

Lots of richer people are in favour of higher taxation because they see the damaging effects on wealth inequality on society.
Its just as easy to argue how unfair various taxes are on poorer people.

I'm going for a 2% tax on the super rich