Luton Outlaws - Independent Message Board for Luton Town FC

I broadly agree with Stephenson however I do agree with the comment that even if you do tax the super wealthy more it doesn't mean that extra tax revenue will be spent sensibly.

Well that is obviously depends on the Government of the day. Stevenson has suggested cutting the lower rates of income tax but that benefits every PAYE employee incl those on £200k+


I also think the only way the wealth divide can be addressed is by global unity of the 99.99% or whatever it is that aren't super wealthy. And of course that 99.99% is a sliding scale of wealth in and of itself.

At the moment tackling global wealth inequality impossible. Let's worry about the UK and not the wider world


"From the clip I saw advertising this programme I think Fulford had a very salient point in that if the super wealthy are taxed it will naturally reduce the value of their assets. I agree that is almost certainly true. I don't know to what extent though, and so it's difficult to know if it could be a counter productive policy."


I really don't think a 2% asset tax will reduce the value of assets when they are generally increasing by a lot more than 2%.


Another issue is establishing ownership in order to be able to tax. Super wealthy people are very adept at using shell companies to obscure true ownership. I imagine this is possibly the single biggest practical obstacle to gathering Stephenson's suggested 2% on assets over £10m


I think problems collecting the 2% that you describe could be overcome. Remember HMRC will be able to construct the legislation as they see fit.


"There's also the issue of those who are asset rich but cash poor. I'm thinking mainly here about legitimate farmers who might need to sell land to pay annual tax bills. This of course leads them down the path of shrinking farms and their land is probably going to be bought up by corporations who then get control of our domestic food chain, which could have disastrous consequences for our national security."

I can't believe there are many farmers that own a farm that is worth more than £10m. For the farmers that do get caught the Government could let them sell single plots for country house builds at the boundary of their land. Just one plot could pay the tax bill in certain parts of the country.

Despite all of these concerns I still think a broader share of wealth is likely to be beneficial for society but it isn't guaranteed to be so. It requires sensible government spending and a pro active approach to see off unintended consequences that otherwise could make things even worse

I think people need to realise the consequences of the wealth gap increasing. Their wealth is not increasing from money found floating around in mid air. We need people to realise the super rich individuals are getting 15% richer each year because the money is flowing upwards from the working/middle class and the Government.
And the Government is fast heading to an economic catastrophe