‘Reforms could net £7bn for Treasury’

TIGHTENING UP Britain’s wealth taxes and subsidies could raise almost £7bn for the Treasury, a leading think tank has said.

The Resolution Foundation has urged ministers to consider reforms to pensions, council tax, inheritance tax, a limit to entrepreneurs’ relief and scrapping the Help to Buy ISA.

The Foundation, in their latest report, said the measures could raise almost £7bn a year by 202223 and provide a down payment on covering the £36bn a year increase in the cost of public services by 2030.

Torsten Bell, of the Resolution Foundation, said: “Britain has unfortunately got used to weak income growth but soaring wealth, which is now worth seven times the size of our economy. It’s time our tax system caught up with that fact.

“Maintaining our valued public services in the face of the big cost pressures of an ageing population, requires better wealth taxation to help fund this gap.

“Yes this is politically difficult, but the good news is that relatively large sums can be raised simply by tightening up our existing wealth taxes and subsidies. That is how we protect our public services without placing all the burden of taxation on hard earned income from work.”

In the report the Foundation urge the Government to consider “going Scottish” on council tax and follow moves by the SNP to introduce a more proportional property tax.

The think tank also push for a clampdown on inheritance tax loopholes.