CashNews.co
A National Renewal Tax on the super-rich could generate at least £130 billion in revenue for the Government over the next five years, but Labour are continuing to stick by their insistence they won’t introduce it.
A report commissioned by Greenpeace UK has found that the revenue could fairly fund measures that would ‘drastically improve’ the lives of tens of millions of people in the UK.
It suggests the money could be used to insulate every poorly insulated home in the UK, lowering energy bills, make public transport cheaper and food and farming healthier – as well as enabling over three million workers in high carbon jobs to retrain in the green industries of the future.
The report was written by King’s College London economist Ben Tippet and has proposed a temporary annual 2.5 percent tax on all individual wealth above £10 million for the next five years.
The methodology, design and implementation of the National Renewal Tax is drawn from recommendations set out by the Wealth Tax Commission in their 2020 report, and would affect fewer than 75,000 people in the UK.
That’s just 0.1 percent of the population and it could raise between £130 billion and £183 billion for the Treasury, depending on levels of avoidance and evasion.
Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, Georgia Whitaker, said: “There is a £130bn elephant in the room when it comes to how we raise the necessary finances to tackle growing inequalities and the climate crisis.
READ MORE
“The oversized carbon footprint of the super-rich is a clear rationale for ensuring that they play an oversized role in fixing the crisis that they have an oversized role in creating. It’s time the UK government taxed their vast wealth.
“A new National Renewal Tax on the super-rich could raise eye-watering sums of money ensuring that every single home in the UK is warm and cheaper to heat, that bus and train travel is cheaper for all, and that millions of workers are supported into new secure green jobs in the industries of the future, right across the country. By tapping into a fraction of the wealth of a few thousand people we can pay for climate solutions benefitting millions.
“The government must use the upcoming Budget to announce a National Renewal Tax on the super-rich to help transform Britain into the green and prosperous country we all want to see in the fairest way possible.”
The report sets out how the National Renewal Tax could easily fund a lot of areas, and would still leave tens of billions of pounds to fund other policies.
The include measures for warmer homes, such as a national insulation programme to upgrade all 19 million homes rated EPC D or lower, and energy bill support over the winter months for the most vulnerable households to prevent avoidable deaths.
There are also suggestions of capped bus fares and rail travel, as well as retraining workers for new green jobs.
The report is supported by millionaire impact investor and Patriotic Millionaires member, Julia Davies, who also wrote the report’s foreword.
She said: “Don’t believe the government when they say the money isn’t there. Because it is. As someone who would be covered by this tax, I can tell you that if you are fortunate enough to have wealth over £10 million, you can afford to make this contribution to a better future for Britain and still enjoy a very good lifestyle indeed.
Rachel Reeves has already said she won’t introduce a wealth tax (Image: PA)
“This report highlights that a small, temporary tax on our wealth could transform the lives of millions, while tackling the greatest threat humanity has ever faced – the climate crisis – all while investing in a strong forward-facing economy with quality stable jobs for the British people.”
Report author and economist at King’s College London, Ben Tippet, said: “The case for a new wealth tax has never been stronger. Wealth inequality has been rising for decades. People are struggling to get by. And much more needs to be done to tackle climate change.
“This report sets out a fair, balanced and feasible proposal for a new wealth tax on the super-rich to tackle these issues, backed up by sound economic theory and empirical evidence. The expected revenues generated are substantial, even with high levels of potential tax avoidance and evasion.
“Learning from the successes and failures of previous wealth taxes, one lesson is clear: a new wealth tax will only work if lobbying to create loopholes is stopped. This is a question of political will, not economics. While taking the leap to introduce a new wealth tax may seem hard, it will build a fairer, greener and more pleasant society for all. “
The UK Government were contacted for comment but were unwilling to introduce the tax, and instead pointed to Rachel Reeves comments last month when she said: “We’re not going to be bringing in a wealth tax, but there will be a number of difficult decisions around tax and spending and welfare.”