The Debate: Is there any merit in a wealth tax?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

55% : Yes, the projections show that a two per cent tax on wealth over £10m could generate around £24bn a year - that's with behavioural change factored in.
52% : Wealth taxes - such as the one backed by 42 MPs - are also costly to administer and require regular valuations of a wide range of assets, including those without a clear market price.
52% : Oliver Jones is the head of asset allocation at Rathbones THE VERDICT Zack Polanski this week doubled down on the Green Party's pledge to introduce a wealth tax, specifically an annual tax of one per cent on assets above £10m and two per cent on assets above £1bn.
51% : Rebecca Gowland is the executive director of Patriotic Millionaires NO: Our research shows a wealth tax could drive over £100bn out of the UK Our analysis - based on official economic data and the most detailed academic studies to date - suggests that a wealth tax could drive over £100bn out of the UK or into less productive assets.
50% : Our members who would pay a two per cent tax talk to me about how they won't even notice it given the rate of return they enjoy on their wealth.
49% : Pledges to impose a wealth tax are often well received among the public, but would such a policy actually help Brits?
48% : While a dozen OECD countries had wealth taxes in 1990, only three (Norway, Spain and Switzerland) retain them.
47% : It's a big no to a wealth tax from City AM.
46% : For years tax rises have sat with small businesses and ordinary workers, while the effective tax rate of the richest remains eye-wateringly low.
41% : In reality, wealth taxes have rarely raised significant funds - and history shows it.
40% : Looking outside the UK, there is only one country in the world - Switzerland - which raises significant revenue from wealth taxation, but its entire tax system is structured differently, with minimal taxes on income, dividends and inheritance.
40% : These drawbacks help explain why the number of wealthy countries levying wealth taxes has fallen from 12 to just three since the early 1990s.
39% : Rebecca Gowland of Patriotic Millionaires and Rathbones' Oliver Jones make the case for and against in this week's Debate YES: Our millionaire members say they wouldn't even notice a two per cent wealth tax The government currently considers tax policy primarily as a way to raise revenue, but the merit of a wealth tax - and taxing wealth more broadly - goes way beyond this.
38% : Two studies from Norway and one covering multiple countries show that private firms whose owners are subject to wealth taxes tend to pay higher dividends to help meet tax liabilities - so these firms invest and grow less.
37% : These taxes also pose challenges for people with wealth tied up in private businesses, who may struggle to meet annual tax payments.

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