Call for wealth tax to meet cost of pandemic

The Government should consider a one-off "wealth tax" to counter the cost of the coronavirus pandemic in preference to increasing general taxation on work or spending, according to public finance experts.

The Wealth Tax Commission – a body made up of academics, policymakers and tax practitioners – says there h ave a l ready been indications that the virus crisis has exacerbated existing financial inequalities, with people in professional or managerial jobs finding it easier to continue th eir work fro m home during the pandemic than some people in lowerpaid jobs.

The Commission said that a wealth tax on milliona i re c oup l e s – pa i d at o n e per cent a year for five years – could raise £260billion, the equivalent to raising VAT by six pence or the basic rate of income tax by nine pence over for the same period.

The suggested tax would include all assets such as main homes and pension pots, as well as business and financial wealth, but minus any debts such as mortgages, and would be be paid by any UK resident, including "non doms".

Dr Arun Advani, assistant professor at the University of Warwick said: "We're often told that the only way to raise serious tax revenue is from income tax, national i n su ra n c e c o ntr i but i o n s , or VAT.

"T h i s s i m p l y i s n' t t h e case. It is a political choice where to get the money from."

Rebecca Gowland from Oxfam said: "It is morally repugnant to allow the poorest people to continue to pay the price for the crisis, when it is clear that a fair tax on the richest could make such a difference."