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

Tax in the US is generally more onerous than the UK.

I still don’t understand though, how an exit charge makes our tax regime less favourable to start ups?

(Companies already have quasi exit charge in the UK anyway, and in my experience few people come to the UK build a company and then leave while still holding the company for non tax reasons - they don’t come to the UK from abroad to start businesses unless they want to settle and build the business here… we’re not that appealing as a tax jurisdiction. In fact, often UK people actively try to start their start up outside of the UK, but tax rules largely prevent this, as they already want to be outside of UK rules ).

They can sell the land to developers and have an easier life while you watch your countryside and food security disappear.

Not sure, they get quite a lot of tax breaks too. I remember under the tories Deb Meaden (dragons den lady) saying that the new tax rules meant she paid less tax. She said it wasn't good and people like her should pay more.

My opinion is some of these mega companies, the ones who earn in the UK, employ people on min wage and are bringing in millions should pay more back into the public purse.

Why are you assuming everyone who’s rich has worked very hard to get it? Tbf most of the people I know who are wealthy have managed to do it through getting a leg up from previous generations. Yes they have decent jobs, but they’ve had handouts/inheritances that have got them on the housing ladder/enabled them to climb it.

I know two people who’ve just gone and worked in the already successful family firm straight from school and ended up taking over the business.

Not most. Most have lower CGT rates than income tax.

Equalising sounds good in theory but then you need inflation-linked allowances, or you are just taxing people on inflation and disincentivising investment.

Brown/Darling reduced the CGT rate and scrapped the inflation linking, to simplify it all.

Also some arguments for keeping CGT low if you want to encourage entrepreneurialism. Given how massively expensive energy and housing is here, making us a high-CGT location would I fear further throttle start-ups that we need to drive growth.

Comments like this show the economic illiteracy of many people. You have precisely zero idea of whether or not it’s “easily affordable” because as yet we have no idea how assets or your “worth” will be calculated.
If it includes any business you own, then no, it will not be “easily affordable”. At all.

I am a higher rate tax payers and I never try to avoid paying.

The rich get out of paying most of their tax.

How do you know they get out of paying?

I wonder if it would be applied to the Royal Family too.

That’s not the concept. It’s 2% on everything over £10m. So if your wealth is £11m, it’s 2% of £1m so £20k.

• @REDB99

Nope. Most of it sits in companies. I think we all benefit from larger companies in terms of R&D, cheaper goods etc. If no one had an incentive to grow a company over about 50 employees we would all be worse off since very few people have the ambition to set up and grow businesses as it is.

Well the money has to come from somewhere, doesn't it? Because the magic bullet of welfare cuts isn't going to touch the sides. Not in a country where 20% of us are over pension age, 25% of us have disabilities, and the number of children with disabilities has doubled in the last 20 years. Where wages don't keep pace with living costs so need topping up by in work benefits.
So unless we're going to means test SRP, cap private rent levels and force employers to pay higher wages, tinkering about with back to work schemes isn't going to give us the money we need for things like defence.
So who should be paying tax?

Of course, that’s what I meant.

If they want to sell let them. As a country we pay relatively low tax compared to many others too. I hate this 'raise taxes, people will leave rubbish'. Sure, those that want to go, bye. But a lot of people will not because it's not just a business that gives them ties to the UK.

https://ifs.org.uk/taxlab/taxlab-key-questions/how-do-uk-tax-revenues-compare-internationally

Public services are already shit even though we have a massive tax burden already. I believe in responsibility.

It's their money in the end. You shout "poverty wages" when many people employed by big companies earn well in skilled work. If someone is on a "poverty wage" they chose that when they accepted the job right?

Compared to much of Europe the NHS is considered to be administratively efficient, with fewer resources (hospital beds, doctors, nurses) than comparable economies. While I have no doubt there are savings to be made, underinvestment is an issue, we fund considerably less per capita than countries like Germany or Netherlands.

The whole answer may not be more money, but more money is certainly part of the answer.

Good on them and so be it. Most billionaires are self made anyway.

Income tax targets high earners
Wealth tax targets the wealthy

Sometimes high earners and the wealthy are the same people. But you'd be amazed how often they aren't.

I think lots of MN need an economics class

Make it illegal to become rich and successful?

I’m torn as they can afford to pay it but then at the same time they don’t get given or helped with anything the way you would on a lower income even though they pay for the services too and it’s unfair for example if I have a business and it starts doing well that people say eff you start giving it up you’re the problem and I say well you never came after me when I was trying to make this happen, never helped me when I was clawing my way through life- but the. They can afford it - I don’t know!!

This lack of thinking is exactly why we need professional juries for things like fraud cases.

It’s typical Labour. They hate people doing well in life. They want everyone dependent on their benefit system

Because it’s only men who work like that and build businesses and wealth? Dear god, have we slipped back to 1950 and I’ve not noticed????

Gains happen because people take risk with money that has already been taxed. Income is not the same. That is why, historically, CGT has been lower to reflect this distortion.

Duh.

I totally agree with you. Cranberry sauce could literally not be more wrong- the stress levels are off the charts.