UK Budget Sidesteps Wealth Tax Despite Broad Public Support
Andy Burnham's first budget is set to avoid major wealth taxes, even as polls show wide public backing including among Reform voters.
Britain's new Chancellor John Healey is preparing to deliver his first budget this week without the sweeping wealth taxes many had anticipated, leaving advocates frustrated as public polling consistently shows strong appetite for taxing the super-rich, according to analysis by Tax Justice UK executive director Faiza Shaheen.
Capital gains tax equalisation with income tax has been ruled out, and a formal wealth tax on assets exceeding £10 million appears similarly off the table. A reported increase in the banking surcharge would merely restore levels that existed before the Conservatives reduced it in 2023, stopping well short of structural redistribution.
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The omissions are striking given the political landscape. Surveys show overwhelming British public support for wealth taxes on the ultra-wealthy, including backing from roughly three in five voters who lean toward Reform UK — a constituency not typically associated with redistributive fiscal policy.
Tax Justice UK points to stark inequality data as the economic backdrop: the wealthiest 50 families in the United Kingdom collectively hold more wealth than the bottom half of the entire population. Shaheen argues that this concentration weakens economic output, damages social cohesion, and erodes democratic accountability.
The tension is compounded by statements from Andy Burnham himself. Prior to becoming Chancellor, Burnham explicitly stated that the UK had "overtaxed labour and undertaxed wealth" — a framing that made his administration's apparent retreat from wealth taxation all the more conspicuous to progressive economists. Continue reading at Business | The Guardian
