Hard on the heels of the Sunday Times Rich List, will new proposals for a wealth tax gain any traction?
In 2020, a group of economic research bodies set up the Wealth Tax Commission to examine the options for a wealth tax to cover the huge costs then being incurred to handle the Covid-19 pandemic. The Commission produced a comprehensive report at the end of the year that suggested:
- A one-off wealth tax (as opposed to annual);
- A rate of 5%, payable at 1% a year for five years; and
- The tax to be payable on all wealth above £500,000, including pensions and main residences.
The tax would have produced £260 billion in total, almost as much as income tax is projected to raise in 2023/24. While the proposals received considerable attention at the time, they were given the cold shoulder by the government and soon disappeared from view.
About two and a half years later, a new wealth tax proposal has been put forward by a group of three tax-campaigning organisations. Their launch came shortly after the latest Sunday Times Rich List was published, showing that 350 individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £796.5 billion.
The new wealth tax was substantially different from the Commission structure:
- It would be an annual tax;
- The rate would be 2%; and
- It would only be payable on all wealth above £10 million.
The high threshold means that the annual amount raised each year would be less than the previous proposal – the campaigners suggested up to £22 billion, although the Commission’s 2020 research suggested a figure of around £17 billion for a similar structure– there are only around 22,000 individuals with wealth of greater than £10 million, according to the Commission.
Polling for one of the three organisations, undertaken by YouGov, showed 74% public support for the 2% wealth tax. Such a result is hardly surprising – most people are in favour of a tax from which they could only benefit.
This latest wealth tax proposal seems destined to suffer the same fate as its predecessor. Were the government to provide a counter argument, it could point out that the freezes it has made to the personal allowance and higher rate threshold alone will raise an extra £21.9 billion in 2023/24, rising to £25.5 billion by 2027/28. This seems unlikely however…
Tax treatment varies according to individual circumstances and is subject to change.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice.
For specialist tax advice, please refer to an accountant or tax specialist.