Wealth tax on Britain’s super-rich might increase NHS with 21 million further appointments
A wealth tax on Britain’s super-rich could fund tens of thousands more NHS staff and 21 million extra appointments, new research shows.
With less than a week to go until the new Labour government’s first Budget, campaigners say a 2% tax on the fortunes over £10million could raise £24billion. It would be paid by the very wealthiest 0.1% of the population and help fix the crisis-hit NHS or massively reduce staggering levels of child poverty.
According to an analysis by the IPPR think-tank for the campaign group 38 Degrees, the cash could help recruit 135,000 more NHS staff. It would also deliver 21 million extra NHS appointments, including 3.8 million more hospital and cancer appointments, and 14 million community care sessions.
The funding from the wealth tax could alternatively be used to improve the lives of 1.2million children living in poverty.
This could include scrapping the controversial two-child benefit limit and restoring the £20-per-week increase in Universal Credit axed by the Tories in 2021.
Last week a survey found a majority of voters (63%) would support a 2% tax on assets over £10million while just 12% were opposed. Earlier this week a group of 30 MPs also called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to impose the tax on “extreme wealth”- rather than any spending cuts.
The CEO of 38 Degrees Matthew McGregor said: “The NHS has been declared officially broken and the ‘black hole’ in public finances that the Government has inherited is a well-publicised problem – one that the British public want to see bold solutions to. A Ten Million Tax of 2% on assets over £10 million is just the kind of measure that voters back.
“A move like this would see the ultra-rich contribute a tiny proportion of their vast wealth – and in return, this money could be spent making a huge difference to millions of peoples’ lives – whether by funding 1.8 million more cancer treatments or lifting families pushed to the brink by the cost of living crisis, out of poverty.”
He added: “At the budget next week, there are big decisions to be made and a big opportunity for the Government. By introducing a Ten Million Tax, they can prove who they are here to serve, and finally put our country back on track.”
It comes after the Chancellor vowed to “fix the NHS” in Labour’s first Budget in almost 15 years but has warned there will be difficult decisions on tax, welfare and spending.
