Wealth taxes

That this House is alarmed by growing levels of wealth inequality in the UK, with the top one per cent owning the same total amount in household wealth as the bottom fifty percent; considers that the current tax system is in need of major reform, including because it is more concerned with taxing income than wealth; further considers that a range of wealth taxes are needed to ensure the ultra-wealthy contribute fairly to funding vital public services; notes the lack of data showing wealth taxes would result in people leaving the UK; welcomes growing support for an annual wealth tax paid by the small minority of people with assets over £10 million; believes that tax rates should not fall as income increases and that all income should be taxed at the same rates, irrespective of source; thinks that it would be fairer for tax rates on investment income and on capital gains to be in line with the tax paid on employment income, and for the pension tax relief rate to be in line with the basic rate of income tax; backs reforming inheritance tax to make intergenerational transfers of wealth fairer; and therefore calls on the Government to urgently undertake a review of steps needed to implement a range of wealth taxes, including practical considerations such as adapting tax returns, so that the UK tax system benefits the overwhelming majority rather than the richest 1 per cent.