Thank you for contacting me about a wealth tax and the planned increase in National Insurance contributions (NICs).

I appreciate your concerns on this issue and agree in particular with your call for the Government to abandon its proposed NICs increase.  I strongly voted against the Tories regressive tax plan.  It will raise taxes on employment that will disproportionately hit working families, young people, those on low and middle incomes and businesses trying to create more jobs. 

Now, with the country facing a cost-of-living crisis that has already seen energy bills soar, petrol and food prices up and weekly budgets stretched, I do not believe there could be a worse time for this tax rise to be introduced. I can therefore assure you that I will continue to support calls for the Government to abandon it.

On a wealth tax, I appreciate that there have been several calls for this in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. For example, in April 2021, the UN Secretary General called for governments to consider “a solidarity or wealth tax” on those who have profited during the pandemic, to reduce extreme inequalities. In October 2021, meanwhile, a group of 30 UK millionaires called on the Chancellor to tax them and the wealthy more in order to tackle inequality and address crises such as the pandemic and the climate emergency.

The Government has rejected calls for a wealth tax. However, I hope it will give proper consideration to these calls and the issues they raise.

More widely, I believe we must make our tax system fairer, ensuring that the burden does not fall just on the wages of working people, but that those at the top pay their fair share too. It cannot be right that successive Government Budgets have raised council tax, income tax and National Insurance contributions, while the wealthiest, those making their money from stocks, shares and property portfolios, have been left largely untouched. 

Unfortunately because of parliamentary convention I am restricted from signing any EDMs due to my position as Shadow Secretary of Transport. Please visit my website to see future updates on my work on this matter. 

I can assure you that I will continue to support efforts to press the Government on this issue and ensure those with the broadest shoulders bear more of the burden.