Comment on A UK headline wealth tax? It may be simpler to put up existing taxes

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Elkenders@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

The 70s comparison doesn’t really hold. Healey’s 98% rate was on paper but almost nobody paid it because of loopholes and avoidance. The IMF bailout then was about 13 percent of GDP, but scaling that up to 100% doesn’t make sense. The UK borrows differently today and isn’t in that situation.

The idea that millionaires are leaving in droves is exaggerated. A few go, most don’t, and the UK still draws plenty of wealthy people in.

The real point is that the very rich don’t take salaries. They hold assets. Income tax doesn’t touch most of their resources, which is exactly why a wealth tax is being talked about. Saying we’d just be repeating the 70s misses what the debate is actually about.

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