A 2% tax on UK rich list families could raise 22bn a year
The Guardian A modest wealth tax on the richest 350 families in the UK could raise more than 20bn a year enough to fund the construction of 145,000 new affordable homes a year according to research by fairer taxation campaigners.
A 2% tax on assets above 10m held by all members of the Sunday Times rich list could raise as much as 22bn, according to analysis by Tax Justice UK, the Economic Change Unit and the New Economics Foundation (NEF).
The campaigners said similar wealth taxes in Norway, Spain and Switzerland had helped to reduce inequality and eased the cost of living crisis for some of the poorest people in those countries. They called on the government to carry out urgent reform of the fundamental unfairness in the tax system which means that income from work is taxed more than income from investments, rent and inheritances.
Lukasz Krebel, economist at NEF thinktank, said: This years rich list shows that at a time when so many of us are struggling with the cost of living, the very wealthiest in society continue to thrive.
