Brian Cox suggests a wealth tax for the super-rich (Look at Donald Trump and his gang of broligarchs – and tell me we don’t need a wealth tax, 25 February). In theory, it’s an excellent idea – a 2% tax could raise $250bn – but how would it work in practice? The entire tax system in the UK is deliberately complicated and cunningly designed to work for the wealthy.
How do you tax a billionaire who spends most of the year trying out their new deck shoes on a yacht or slumming it in a tax haven? Jim Ratcliffe, who used to pay more than £100m a year in tax in the UK, decamped to Monaco reportedly to save himself £4bn. How would HMRC get its hands on the piles of wealth the rich send offshore?
No doubt due to a reduction in headcount, a recent report by the public accounts committee raises concerns about HMRC’s ability and will to investigate tax evasion in the retail sector. The wealthiest 0.1% or 0.01% will already have dastardly plans and schemes to avoid any wealth tax, most likely bolted together by teams of highly paid and tax-deductible accountants.
Mark Husbands
Nottingham
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