A new proposal by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) for taxing the super-rich is unlikely to be taken up by a major political party, according to tax expert Vincent Wood.
The TUC has suggested that that a 32% minimum rate of tax should be levied on those who earn between £100,000 and £150,000, while people on salaries of more than £200,000 ought to be taxed at no less than 40%.
This, the organisation claimed, 'would not increase any tax rates, but would limit the tax-relief and tax-avoidance measures open to the well-off, and could raise £5 billion'.
The plan makes up part of a TUC pamphlet called Do the Super-Rich Matter?, which shows that the wealthiest few in the UK are richer — even after adjusting for economic growth and inflation - than their equivalents at the end of the 19th century.
Vincent Wood, a tax partner at Baker Tilly, believes the TUC's proposal would be easy to administer, but only in theory.
'As a concept, it's straightforward,' he said. 'In reality, it would be difficult to administer. There would be the thorny issue of how the non-domiciled would be handled, being that they are the people who would make up the majority of those targeted. This looks like it's just another crack at the non-doms.'
However, the practicalities are a moot point given that the plan is unlikely to be put into practice
