Unite calls for 1% wealth tax on super-rich to fund UK public sector pay rises

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/24/unite-calls-for-1-wealth-tax-on-super-rich-to-fund-uk-public-sector-pay-rises

Posted by denyer-no1-fan

16 Comments

  1. BeerLovingRobot on

    Does unite actually have any economic knowledge or expertise? Is there anything suggesting this will have any long term benefit to those services?

  2. > The demand from Britain’s second biggest union will test truce with Labour at next month’s TUC conference

    What “truce”? Unite flounced off in a huff and didn’t want to contribute.

    That was their choice and their loss of influence to live with.

  3. Low-Educator6026 on

    The issue is that soon it will be anyone who has savings. Oh you’ve got 10k, give us £100 because druggie dug needs you to pay for his council house and UC.

  4. rocc_high_racks on

    I guess Unite weren’t happy enough with the brain drain they caused through their support for Brexit, and now have decided they need capital flight too…

  5. That’s should free up quite a few mansions in London.

    Not sure how much tax it will collect though.

  6. Nothing against asking the ultra rich to contribute more… but wealth tax are such a slippery slope

  7. Has to be a tax on the super rich or this isnt going to work. Low end Millionares are not super rich. Its the multi-million/billionares that are a bigger problem.

  8. Why are people in these comments so against this? There has been a huge upward transfer of wealth through neoliberalism and austerity, but apparently the other way around is impossible somehow??

  9. Communism doesn’t work, guys!

    Rich people already pay most of the taxes in this country. 45% of a 6 figure salary is a lot of money???

    Everyone has the rights to the fruits of their labour and for me a moral principal would be that the government can never take any more 50% off your wage?

  10. sortofhappyish on

    Civil Service…grades upto 6, each *department* gets “an average raise of upto 5%”. So 29% for the boss and 1% for his 6 employees…averages to 5%

    Everyone ABOVE grade 7 is getting 20%+ but this is being kept quiet…….

    So 1% tax on the wealthy? no freakin chance the government would do that to their buddies.

  11. For those thinking a wealth tax is bad because:

    1. The rich will just leave, watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luobN4xGOdA
    2. Your “wealth” will be taxed (some day), watch: https://youtu.be/bReS9FLpgT4?feature=shared&t=188 (starts are the actual explanation)
    3. This won’t actually benefit you, watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHrl_7t779M
    4. It’s a slippery slope, and soon you will be taxed, watch: https://youtu.be/bReS9FLpgT4?feature=shared&t=188 (starts are the actual explanation, this is the same video as point 2)
    5. This won’t raise enough revenue, watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHrl_7t779M (same as point 3)
    6. Other: Leave a comment and I’ll try to post a relevant video 😀

    Note: I’m in no way associated with the channel, he’s just much better at articulating this stuff, and has way more credibility than just a random person online because he’s actually a very succesful economist.

  12. ThatGuyMaulicious on

    Surely though if rich people leave then anything of value whether that’s businesses or assets get taken with them to countries that don’t tax them… I feel like this will create short term income but long term won’t work. The government and civil service would also be in this bracket I know we have a Labour government but that is in name fucking only. Keir Starmer will never agree to this and piss off his masters.

  13. Still_Swim8820 on

    Nearly 50% of millionaires are already thinking of leaving the country since Labour got in so this will only backfire.. 1% isn’t a lot but UK has become a sh*t hole and if I had the money I’d leave especially if gov wanted more money to fund wars and house illegal immigrants.