The rich should be taxed more to help families with huge profits

The Sunday Times’ richest list of UK billionaires shows a record number of taxpayers should be taxed on their profits.

The huge increase in wealth at the top during epidemics shows how ‘wealth often breeds more wealth’, says think tank

Call for redistribution through higher taxes on income from assets, and repeal of council tax for a new, proportional property tax

Reacting to this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, George Dibbs, head of the IPPR think tank’s Center for Economic Justice, said: This was especially true during the epidemic, when the rich saved more wealth than the poor who saved nothing.

“The UK now has more billionaires than ever before and the combined wealth of the rich has grown again.

“We urgently need to look at ways to help the families most affected by this new price crisis, including the redistribution of wealth among the rich to pay for higher social security benefits for those most in need.”

“This means reforming the tax system so that income from assets – capital gains – is taxed just like hard-earned income from work. The time has come to replace the council tax regressive system with a fair, proportional property tax. Those with broad shoulders should contribute more.”

“At the same time we should abolish the so-called ‘non-dome’ status so that the rich can spend time abroad and avoid taxes.”