Wealth Tax Campaign
Our tax system is one of the most powerful tools we have for creating a fairer, more just society.
In the face of a climate emergency requiring governments to take serious action to protect people and planet, a cost-of-living crisis pushing many working people into poverty and with public services at breaking point, we need a tax system that works for the benefit of everyone now more than ever.
The Government needs money to address these major issues of our time. We believe some of this should come from a fair and progressive tax system which ensures people of all economic and social backgrounds contribute a fair share to the common good.
That is why we are calling for greater taxation on wealth. Recent research from our friends at Tax Justice UK and Patriotic Millionaires estimated that the government could raise up to £50 billion by reforming the way it taxes wealth – including introducing a wealth tax of 1-2% on assets over £10 million. Internationally, research from Oxfam highlighted how an annual wealth tax of up to 5% on the world’s billionaires and multi-millionaires could raise enough money to lift 2 billion people out of poverty.
We are calling on the UK government to introduce a wealth tax on the country’s wealthiest individuals. Would you join our call and contact your MP about a new UK wealth tax.
Email your MP
Email your MP urging them to support fairer wealth taxation and to raise this issue with the Chancellor. Click the button below to find and email your local MP.
I’m very pleased to see Church Action for Tax Justice calling for a wealth tax as a way of reducing the shocking levels of inequality in the UK. It is morally wrong that our economic system allows more and more wealth to accumulate in the hands of a few, while public services and standards of living decline. Excessive wealth is also driving climate breakdown, as billionaires tend to be responsible for thousands of times their fair share of carbon emissions. To build a peaceful and sustainable world, we must tackle extreme wealth.
Paul Parker
The pandemic and the stress of lockdown was a huge economic burden on ordinary people, not so for billionaires however, whose global wealth grew five trillion dollars in 12 months, largely due to government stimulus packages. With inflation now outstripping wage growth and real wages decreasing, the UK government have an obligation to tackle our society’s runaway wealth inequality. These bold provisions for a wealth tax from Church Action for Tax Justice would help redistribute the undue financial gains the super-rich made during the pandemic whilst simultaneously tackling the tax avoidance that has plagued the UK for decades.
Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith
Spiralling inequality is a major issue in our society, and all the evidence suggests that this is deeply damaging to our collective morale and trust. A wealth tax of the kind we are backing recognises that vastly disproportionate rewards for a very small number of citizens will not make for a cohesive and just national community. Contributing to the creation of a more cohesive and a more just system is not a “tax burden” but an opportunity to build a stable, sustainable economy that works for everyone.
Dr Rowan Williams
We need to close the loopholes used by the very wealthy to slash their tax bills. This campaign by Church Action for Tax Justice is incredibly timely – we need to mobilise people to back taxing wealth more.
Robert Palmer
You don’t have to be Christian to support fair taxation and support for our key workers who kept our country running during the pandemic. But surely fair taxation is inherent to loving your neighbour and supporting those less fortunate. I’m incredibly privileged to have wealth in excess of $5 million and along with other Patriotic Millionaires I call on our Government to tax the wealth of privileged people like us to help fund our NHS and social care. To tax our wealth in excess of $5 million instead of increasing National Insurance contributions on our key workers.
Julia Davies
Christian leaders regularly stand on stages advocating that people tithe or regularly give to support the work of the church. In some ways we pay for the privilege of being part of a functional, thriving community. There is less noise made about doing the same for our country through paying fair taxes. Let’s care more about what kind of society we are building than how nice a clubhouse we are building….