The majority of the public support a Wealth Tax on the super-rich but the recent programme by Gary Stevenson won’t persuade the doubters. We know people end up super-rich as much due to good fortune as anything else (such as, just being selfish). We need taxes on the super-rich to share that opportunity. A wealth tax is one option. For example, the Green Party argues that people who have assets of over £10 million should have a hundredth of that taken away each year. A little from the wealthy, a lot for people who need it. That sort of tax has worked, though with strong opposition from some wealthy people, in countries like Norway.
We also know that the super-rich aren’t having a great time. They worry about losing their money, hire security, gate themselves off. They worry about having the biggest yacht, fanciest car, showiest party. A few miles away, the local youth club is boarded up, mum is on the late-shift, the kids look with envy at the clothes drug-dealers wear. The slow violence of consumerism and poverty on body and mind. But rich or poor, what makes us happy is having a laugh, doing good in the community, feeling part of something. Money doesn’t buy that, but money helps everyone have the opportunity. To reopen that youth club, support parents and carers, create good roles and jobs.
A wealth tax needs some things to work well. A national register of assets. Treating land used for farming differently to land used for development. Taxing people who leave the country, so they can’t run from responsibility. But when even the majority of millionaires say we need to tax them more, something needs to change. We need to keep talking about how to share out good fortune. It will make our country a better place for everyone.
