Time to tax wealth
Labour’s UK budget is another missed opportunity to challenge the wealth and power of the super-rich and polluting corporations, say the Scottish Greens.
The Greens had called on the Chancellor to apply a wealth tax on the top 1% of households in the UK – those with assets worth £3.4 million and above. Analysis from the University of Greenwich suggests that this tax would raise between £70-£130 billion per year.
That money could then be invested in making buses and trains cheaper, building more warm & affordable homes and other measures which would help people and the planet.
Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer said:
“This was a badly missed opportunity and a lesson in mediocrity. Labour promised little and delivered even less.
“The Chancellor could have introduced a wealth tax on multi-millionaires and use the proceeds to make costs like bus and train travel cheaper.
“But like we’ve seen too many times before, Labour is running scared of the super-rich and big polluters. The effective tax rate on workers is still far higher than on corporate profits.
“The top 1% will breathe a sigh of relief today that Labour has once again refused the Greens’ proposed wealth tax, and thus the money-saving changes it would fund for ordinary people.
“The Chancellor was at least finally forced to scrap the cruel two child cap. There was no explanation for why she chose to keep it so long though, or why Labour MPs have spent the last 18 months trying to defend that.”
Ross added:
“You wouldn’t know that we’re living through a climate emergency from this budget. Labour even used it as cover to sneak out a separate announcement that they’ll allow for even more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
“The levy on electric vehicles while fuel duty has been frozen since 2011 really says it all. That will be music to the ears of the fossil fuel industry. It will penalise ordinary people who have tried to do the right thing by buying an EV.
“There was no vision for green investment or jobs, nothing for the workers facing redundancy at Mossmorran and nothing to concern the corporate polluters making an absolute fortune while the world burns.
“The Chancellor had the opportunity to take bold climate action, but she chose to do the exact opposite.”