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https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jul/27/taxing-the-rich-could-solve-many-problems-why-is-it-so-difficult-in-the-uk>
"Rachel Reeves will this week lay out the full cost of Conservative party
economic neglect. Initial findings, according to Labour briefings, put the cost
of the repair job at about £20bn, though there is also a strong hint that the
final bill, when it is announced on Monday, will be much higher.
The exercise is a chance for the chancellor to send a message to her own
supporters to ease off on demands for extra spending. Reeves will say the
Tories’ reckless and inept handling has pushed the government’s finances
further into the red than was previously understood.
A message will also go out to the many people who didn’t vote Labour – let’s
remember that about 80% of the UK electorate didn’t put an X against the name
of a Labour candidate – that the deficit in the public finances warrants some
tax rises.
There is growing speculation that Reeves will signal a series of wealth tax
rises, possibly increasing the rate paid on capital gains and the tax on
inherited wealth, as a means to plug some of the holes.
The question Labour advisers are asking themselves is whether they have
prepared the ground for extra taxes on wealth, and how they will be received by
those who could end up paying them. More importantly, what will be the reaction
of people who, rightly or wrongly, think they might be forced to pay such taxes
at some time in the future.
Most of the western world now finds itself in need of a tax reset, but what is
lacking is the kind of crisis that triggers a deep questioning of how we pay
for public services and welfare benefits. The pandemic and a war in Europe have
not been enough to spark collective soul searching about the nature of
21st-century capitalism.
Even though many have changed the way they live and work – moving out of cities
or back to live with parents, coping with long Covid or retiring early – most
voters try to forget the pandemic ever happened.
Back in 2008, there was hope that the financial crash would strengthen the
argument of those who said handing tax breaks to bankers and the super-rich in
search of financial gain brought only instability and a relatively small number
of winners.
Those voices weren’t heard and instead we soldier on, unable to confront the
fact that a minority of people and businesses, by virtue of their wealth, wield
tremendous power and entrench their elevated position while everyone else
scrabbles to maintain some semblance of their previous standard of living."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
