Newspaper Column – The Cornishman – 26/10/26

I called on the Chancellor to use this week’s budget to combat widening inequality. 

The top 50 richest families now hold more wealth than the poorest half of the population. I’m not interested in the politics of envy and have no problem with clever, enterprising, exceptionally hard-working, genuinely risk-taking and talented people becoming fabulously wealthy. But it’s shocking when top bankers boast they “pay less tax than their cleaners”. 

I tabled Parliamentary motions last month pointing out government can ensure, as previous PMs have claimed, “those with the broadest shoulders bear the greatest burden”, while those who struggle are supported. 

Key elements of my parliamentary motions are: 

• Acknowledge that inequality is widening; including that there has been nearly 1000% increase in the wealth of UK billionaires since 1990;

• Recognise UK’s tax-to-GDP ratio is 35%, and comparable G7 economies Italy (43%), Nordic countries (41-43%), France (44%) (OECD data 2024);

• UK spends 7.31% of GDP (£217.5 billion per annum), on tax reliefs, equivalent to 23% of Government tax revenue – 815 of 1,180 tax reliefs have never been costed;

• The Government introduced 14 major tax policies targeted at and for the benefit of high wealth/income individuals in 2015-2023 (just 3 substantiated on a significant evidential basis – Institute for Government), and the National Audit Office reported a concerning absence of evaluation of tax reliefs;

• Tax reliefs have provoked an industrial-level flipping of second homes from Council Tax to business rates where, through Small business rate relief (SBRR), the majority pay no tax at all; resulting in over £500 million of taxpayers’ money used to support holiday home owners in Cornwall alone in the last decade (the majority have their primary residence outside Cornwall), while thousands of local families are evicted to make way for more holiday and second home investors and Cornwall Council now needs to cut essential services to balance the books;

• £160 billion could have been raised for the UK’s public finances over the past 35 years if those on the Rich List were annually taxed 2% on their net wealth, whilst their share of the wealth would still have increased from 1.7% to 2.7%;

• There is considerable evidence that low taxes on wealth can be counterproductive for growth and productivity and equalising capital gains and income tax rates alongside introducing an investment allowance supports productivity and growth and would raise £19.7bn a year.

• The combined annual profits of the four largest UK banks have doubled to £48 billion since 2021;

• A fair and pragmatic windfall tax on Banks would raise approximately £19 billion per annum, equating to the estimated cost of the PM’s proposed National Care Service;

• Tech giants pay only 2% on their declared UK profits and that an increase to just 10% would raise a further £4 billion per annum.

• So, government can do more to combat widening inequality. My motions call on the Chancellor to reflect on these factors. I just hope he’ll do the right thing.