One of Labour’s new MPs has defended the decision by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to rule out a wealth tax, claiming it would not have much of an impact.
Reeves has previously rejected calls for the tax as a solution to what she says is the £22bn shortfall that is blighting public finances.
Torsten Bell, a former Treasury official who was also chief executive of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, said a wealth tax would not raise “significant revenues” despite a clamour from those on the left.
“On the tax side it is very fashionable on the left to say: ‘Let’s just have a wealth tax,’” he said during an event at the Cheltenham literature festival to promote his new book, Great Britain? How We Get Our Future Back.
“For some of us who have spent 20 years working on tax policy, I think that is something that is exciting for them to write in books and not very useful in terms of helping govern the country.”
The Swansea West MP made clear his belief that there were other ways to “grow taxes on the wealth side”.
“We have got a lot of wealth taxes already, like inheritance tax, capital gains tax, stamp duty,” he said.
“Sort out those taxes is the first way you officially start taxing wealth, stop dreaming of your wealth tax because you are just going to waste years.”
Bell rejected comparisons between the UK and US, arguing that there was a level of wealth in America that made such a tax viable.
“The short reason why that doesn’t work in the UK is two words: Jeff Bezos. He does not live in the UK.
“And, yes, we do have some very rich people. But our wealth is nowhere near … we don’t have the globally rich people that the US, particularly, has lots of.
“You will have a brand new wealth tax and you are not going to bring in really significant revenues in the UK.”
Bell’s comments came shortly after the government announced plans to commit the same sum – £22bn – to fund carbon capture and storage projects over 25 years. Reeves says the “gamechanging technology” will generate 4,000 good jobs and billions in private investment.
As well as defending the chancellor, Bell criticised the Conservatives for spending their tenure failing to deliver on a promise to build homes.
“There has been enough gameplay over the 14 years … it’s hard to do, and if you can’t overcome the hard job of doing it well, so it is just a bit of virtual signalling, I’m afraid you can get stuffed and shouldn’t be in politics at all.
“It does matter when things are hard. That’s why for 14 years the Tories promised to build homes and didn’t.”
Reeves is due to deliver her first budget on 30 October and used her party conference speech last month to warn of “tough decisions”, but rejected a return to austerity.
Rumours that the chancellor is considering changing how the government’s fiscal rules are calculated to allow billions of pounds more in capital spending were also rife during the party’s annual conference.
