Happy New Year!

What a co-incidence. We’ve heard a lot from Rachel Reeves about the ‘black hole’ of £22 billion inherited from the Tories. That figure is widely disputed. So how to fill it, if indeed it exists? I’ve just come across this on the Tax Justice Network website, outlining several measures that could raise £50-£60 billion:

‘1. Apply a 1-2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million, raising up to £22 billion a  year.
A small wealth tax applied to those at the very top of the distribution would affect only 0.04% of the population. This makes it much easier to administer than annual wealth  taxes set at a lower threshold, as it would affect only around 20,000 people. It would  ensure that those who have benefited enormously from structural economic changes over  the last decade contribute fairly and create significant revenue for national renewal.’ (Tax Justice Network 15 March 2023)

That’s just one tax possibility.  What has Reeves done instead? In the 2024 Labour Budget ‘The tax rises that will directly impact the wealthy the most are estimated to raise at least 35 billion pounds by the end of this decade, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, the government's spending watchdog.' (Reuters, emphasis added) So just £7 billion a year equivalent. In the meantime National Insurance on jobs was put up and pensioners lost their Winter Fuel Allowance. Is further comment necessary?