John Healey is facing mounting pressure to introduce a wealth tax in next week's Budget, with unions and campaign groups arguing it could transform public services. Research from the IPPR think tank suggests such a levy could fund an extra 130,000 care workers and five million emergency payments to vulnerable households.
Union Leaders Call for Tax on the Rich
Speaking to The Mirror this week, Andrea Egan, General Secretary of the Unison union, which represents over 1.3 million workers, said recent polling showed the public's message was clear: "It's time to tax the rich."
Ms Egan said Labour-affiliated union general secretaries had delivered a clear message during recent meetings with the Prime Minister and Mr Healey: "You cannot take any more money from working people. They have paid the price for the bankers' crash in 2008. They've paid decades on this chosen austerity programme."
She added: "And what we've not seen, and what needs to happen, is the direction turns and they start to tax those that can afford it. So, you know, the wealthy, they can start taxing the banks, they can get some capital gains. It will be a mistake if they do not do that."
Millionaires Back Wealth Levy
Earlier this year, more than 100 UK-based millionaires, including former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, signed a letter urging new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to tax their wealth. Organised by the group Patriotic Millionaires UK, the letter called for higher taxes on the very richest in the UK, not everyday workers.
Mr Burnham has previously suggested he backed a wealth tax, and recently claimed his government may have "to ask for a little more" from the richest.
Patriotic Millionaires, along with the group Tax Justice UK, are proposing an annual 2% tax on wealth above £10 million. Tax Justice UK says it would affect around 20,000 people in the UK, fewer than 0.04% of the population.
Treasury Plans and Criticisms
While the Treasury is said to be preparing to hike a levy on the big banks' bumper profits, an increase in capital gains appears to have been ruled out at next week's Budget. Several prominent Labour figures, including Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, previously called for a rise in the levy, which applies to profit made from selling assets like a house or shares.
Critics have claimed a wealth tax would lead to an exodus of wealthy people. Last month, the BBC reported that hedge-fund billionaire Chris Rokos, one of the UK's richest taxpayers, had decided to leave the country for Greece.
