Millionaires urge MPs “tax us, the super rich” to avoid cuts and invest in Britain
“Tax our wealth” - that’s the message from millionaires across the UK who are taking their campaign out on the road ahead of the Government’s Spring Statement.
Patriotic Millionaires UK has commissioned a fleet of mobile billboards to tour towns and cities across the country to tell people and constituency MPs: a tax of two percent on wealth above £10 million could raise £460 million a week for our country’s crumbling finances.
This single tax reform would affect only 20,000 people, or 0.04 percent of the British population, and would deliver huge national investment potential. It’s more than enough to tackle the £22 billion “black hole” the government says it inherited; more than enough to deal with the Government’s proposed defence spending; and more than enough to inject much-needed funding into the country’s top needs such as our public services, and help create a fairer, better Britain.
Phil White, member of Patriotic Millionaires UK, said: “We all want a vibrant, strong, and healthy country, one that ensures our own people, and those of our allies from Ukraine to Kenya, can enjoy the benefits of a just society. Piecemeal approaches to cutting already meagre budgets can’t deliver this. There’s plenty of money in the UK - but it’s stuck in the hands of the wealthiest - and while they get richer everyone else gets poorer.
“The British people have always been proud of the shared public services we’ve created and are frustrated to see how they have been run into the ground. The NHS, education, our water system, public transport and others desperately need funding but British people are being constantly squeezed - working hard week-on-week against rising costs. This makes the need for taxing the very richest even more important.
“We would be proud to pay more, because that’s what being patriotic is: investing in a stronger, fairer Britain, where our services, businesses, and communities thrive and everyone can succeed. Seven in 10 millionaires agree that taxing wealth is the way forward and three-quarters of Brits support it too. So what’s stopping the Government?”
On Friday 14 March, the digital advertising vans are visiting constituencies in:
Bristol
Plymouth and Cornwall
Greater Manchester and
Leeds
Jake Atkinson, Campaign Manager at Tax Justice UK said: “Tax and spending is a political choice. The Chancellor must side with those waiting for housing or healthcare, rather than the super-rich. Taxing the wealth of the super-rich is long overdue and could generate tens of billions to invest in improving the country’s health, education, and local services. Rumoured cuts are not necessary when the UK is home to lots of very rich people who continue to get richer while inequality grows and public services struggle to function.”
A wealth tax is just one of the 10 reforms, proposed by Tax Justice UK and Patriotic Millionaires UK, which could raise £60 billion a year combined.
The campaign comes just weeks after Patriotic Millionaires UK and other organisations brought together more than 370 millionaires and billionaires to sign a letter to global leaders attending the World Economic Forum, demanding they draw the line and tax the super rich.
The letter, We Must Draw the Line, was signed by people including Abigail Disney, Marlene Engelhorn, Brian Eno, and Richard Curtis.
It was accompanied by new survey data which showed 75 percent of millionaires polled think that the super rich buy political influence and over half of millionaires polled do not think our political leaders have the will to tackle extreme wealth.