Former Labour minister says she 'hopes' Rachel Reeves is considering wealth tax

A erstwhile Labour curate has said she wants Rachel Reeves to see the "evidence" down introducing a wealthiness taxation successful the UK.

Anneliese Dodds, who quit arsenic planetary improvement minister successful February implicit Sir Keir Starmer's determination to slash the overseas assistance budget, said she believed it was "important" that the authorities considers "who has the broadest shoulders".

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Speaking to Beth Rigby connected the Sky News Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Ms Dodds, the MP for Oxford East, said determination had been a "lot of discussion" astir a wealthiness taxation - a nonstop levy connected all, oregon astir of, an individual's, household's oregon business's full nett wealth, alternatively than their income.

Ms Dodds, who besides served arsenic shadiness chancellor erstwhile Labour was successful opposition, said she had been "a spot sceptical astir immoderate of those claims for a agelong clip because, of course, wealthiness is taxed successful the UK".

However, she said enactment carried retired by the Wealth Tax Commission successful 2020 had looked astatine assorted types of planetary wealthiness taxes and however it would beryllium imaginable to present 1 successful a UK context.

She added: "I would anticipation the Treasury is considering that benignant of evidence, arsenic good arsenic different changes that person been enactment forward."

The erstwhile furniture curate besides said that taxation proposals outlined by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to Rachel Reeves should beryllium "considered".

In a memo that was leaked to the Daily Telegraph successful May, Ms Rayner suggested to the chancellor that she summation taxes, including reinstating the pensions beingness allowance and a higher corp taxation level for banks.

"We've seen the lawman person of the Labour Party, for example, enactment guardant suggestions arsenic I recognize it," Ms Dodds said.

"I deliberation it's important for each of those to beryllium considered now."

Ministers person signalled they volition not bring successful a wealthiness taxation to equilibrium the books, with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds branding the proposition "daft".

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Speaking to GB News past week, Mr Reynolds said: "This Labour authorities has accrued taxes connected wealthiness arsenic opposed to income - the taxes connected backstage jets, backstage schools, changes done inheritance tax, superior gains tax.

"But the thought there's a magic wealthiness tax, immoderate benignant of levy...that doesn't beryllium anyplace successful the world.

"Switzerland has a levy, but they don't person superior gains oregon inheritance tax. There's nary benignant of magic. We're not going to bash thing daft similar that.

"And I accidental to people: 'Be superior astir this.' The thought you tin conscionable levy everyone. What if your wealthiness was not successful your slope account, what if it was successful good vino oregon art? How would we taxation that? This is wherefore this doesn't exist.

"There's a batch of populism retired astir this, and I'm frustrated. I spot colleagues sometimes accidental this successful parliament and I say: 'Come on, get serious.'"

Ms Dodds said that portion she had not spoken straight with Ms Reeves astir a wealthiness tax, she believed the "trade-off we person to see successful a satellite of tons of hard trade-offs is perchance making immoderate large and important changes early, oregon having to marque galore tactical changes done the parliament and perchance being forced into immoderate of those hard decisions anyhow aboriginal on".