‘There’s many wealthy people who support the introduction of a wealth tax and can afford it’, founding member of Patriotic Millionaires UK and impact investor Julia Davies says
A wealth tax on rich people like me could raise £24 billion a year for our country – much-needed money to fix our struggling economy and crumbling public services. For far too long, working people and their families have been footing the bill, while the super-rich get off scot-free. The mere suggestion of asking them to chip in a bit more is met with claims that they’ll be forced to leave, that their wealth trickles down to everyone, that without them this country will grind to a halt.
As a millionaire I’m here to tell you none of this is true. In fact, there’s many wealthy people, like me and my fellow members of Patriotic Millionaires, who support the introduction of a wealth tax. We can afford to pay more, and 80% of millionaires surveyed, also agreed with us.
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A 2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million is moderate, reasonable and much needed. Imagine you have £11 million. A wealth tax would require you to pay 2% on that 11th million – so £20,000. But most people, with wealth of this scale, can make at least 5% return a year on it. So, even after paying the wealth tax, you’d still be £530,000 better off.
Money makes money, but most people in the UK have nothing left after they’ve paid the bills to save for a rainy day, let alone to invest to make a return. Too many British families and pensioners are faced with heart-breaking choices. Put the heating on or buy enough food for the week? Be around to help their kids with their homework or do more overtime to buy school uniform?
These are the hard choices facing working people. When a rich person says they will leave the UK if they have to pay more tax, this is also a choice. They are choosing not to support the society in which they live to function and their fellow Brits to thrive. They moan about crime rates and the state of our towns and cities but don’t want to help pay for a functioning criminal justice system and well-maintained parks and city centres.
We all want to live in a strong, stable country where businesses can thrive, where our elderly receive the care they deserve and our young have the best opportunities in life. A wealth tax will provide the investment we all need for a better Britain for all. So should the Government listen to the 75% of the public who support a wealth tax or a tiny handful of rich people who stamp their feet and threaten to leave? The choice is now firmly in the hands of the Chancellor.
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