- The super-rich are driving inequality and the climate crisis by hoarding wealth, investing in carbon polluting industries, and avoiding taxation – while the rest of us struggle with soaring energy costs, underfunded public services, and climate impacts like heatwaves and floods.
- Yet instead of taxing them properly, governments give billionaires a free pass and cut funding for vital public services while the rich get richer.
- The richest 1% produce as much carbon pollution as two-thirds of humanity while paying next to nothing in taxes.
- Billionaires like Elon Musk actively undermine democracy by funding far-right politicians and policies that serve their interests at the expense of our welfare and our planet.
- Governments claim to lack funds to invest in renewable energy and public services – but if they raised taxes on those most able to pay a little more, they could raise billions in additional tax revenue. Just a 2% tax on assets over £10 million would affect only 20,000 people (a TINY proportion of the population) yet could raise £24 billion a year!
- The majority of the British public supports taxing extreme wealth – along with unions, charities and even millionaires themselves!
Won’t the rich just leave if we raise taxes?
Despite common claims from media and politicians that billionaires and multi-millionaires would leave at the drop of a hat if taxes on extreme wealth were increased slightly, there is little evidence to support this. Tax Justice UK recently released a report called “The millionaire exodus myth” which addresses this head on. They found:
- Millionaires are “highly immobile” and none of the findings provide any evidence that tax played any role in any relocation of wealthy individuals.
- The methodology used in reports suggesting a “millionaire exodus” which have been extremely widely shared across print and online news is flawed and claims are contradictory. The media has often also misreported or exaggerated the findings.
Isn’t it bad for business?
You could argue that allowing a small number of people to accrue ‘unused’ wealth is actually worse for the economy than ensuring millions of people have fair wages, affordable green energy and thriving public services. Redistribution can ensure working people have more disposable income, thus raising demand for goods and services and benefiting British businesses and high streets.
Tax Their Billions: How and why the super-rich should pay to help fix the climate crisis