Should the UK have a wealth tax?
The Wealth Tax Commission was established in Spring 2020 to provide in-depth analysis of proposals for a UK wealth tax, for the first time in almost half a century.
This Commission studied whether a UK wealth tax is desirable and deliverable. To do this we worked with a network of world-leading experts, including economists, lawyers and accountants to study all aspects of a wealth tax. We released our final report on 9 Dec 2020. A document answering some of the top questions we’ve received is here.
The case for a one-off wealth tax
There is a cost of living crisis going on. UK living standards are predicted to fall at the fastest rate since records began. Whilst the Chancellor's recently implemented some support to help ease this pressure, this has been accompanied by a large rise in national insurance contributions, which disproportionately hurts workers. But what if there were a solution?
LAUNCH EVENT:
A wealth tax for the UK
The Final Report of the Wealth Tax Commission was published on 9th December 2020 at an event hosted by the London School of Economics. The format was a presentation of our main recommendations and how a one-off wealth tax would work in practice, followed by a discussion and questions. The video is available below, and a podcast of the event is available here. Links to the final report and all the evidence papers are available below.
9 Dec 2020
Final Report of the Wealth Tax Commission published today.
If you haven’t signed up, but want to come to the launch event, you can watch it here.
Executive Summary of report here, or read the full report:
30 Oct 2020
Evidence Papers of the Wealth Tax Commission published today.
LAUNCH EVENT:
Is it time for a UK wealth tax?
The Wealth Tax Commission was launched on 2nd July 2020 at an event hosted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The format was short presentations setting out the evolution of UK wealth and the possible rationales and difficulties of introducing a wealth tax followed by a discussion. The video is available below and the slides are available here.
“This project …is being led by a team with the essential mix of skills in economics, tax law and administration, that will be needed to craft a credible proposal. Whatever their recommendations…the final report should be required reading for my former colleagues in HMT and HMRC.”
— Lord Gus O’Donnell
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, 2005-11