12 h. ago Starmer's new economic adviser who has backed new taxes on inheritance and the targeting of pensions

Baroness Minouche Shafik is set to be hired as the Prime Minister's chief economic adviser in the latest revamp of No 10's top team.

Economics

4 d. ago Cash gifts in families rule HMRC rule change 'could be coming'

The Chancellor is understood to be examining a rarely-used exemption that allows people to hand over unlimited wealth tax-free.

Politics

8 d. ago JULIA DAVIES: 'Many millionaires support a wealth tax, and can afford to pay more'

'There’s many wealthy people who support the introduction of a wealth tax and can afford it', founding member of Patriotic Millionaires UK and impact investor Julia Davies says

Economics

1 week ago Voices: What is the fairest way to tax property in the UK? Join The Independent Debate

Readers are divided over the fairness of proposed reforms to UK property taxes, debating whether they tackle unearned wealth or unfairly penalise ordinary homeowners

Society

1 week ago Can a nation in crisis rely on the baby boomer generation to step up? I think the UK is about to find out | Phillip Inman

A raid on property wealth and pensions is being signalled by the Treasury, and it has sound reasons for doing just thatDear baby boomer, the government is coming for you and your store of wealth. The property and pensions built up over the past 40 to 50 years are, for the first time, in play. The triple lock on the state pension might be guaranteed, at least for the time being, but for the wealthier boomer, it looks like their private assets are being laid out on a chopping board, ready to be carved like a Sunday roast and fed to hungry government departments starved of funds for almost two decades.These are desperate times and taxing the wealthy is a desperate measure. No government wants to do it. If you tax the rich, they might fly away in their private jets. That’s happened in Norway, one of the few European countries to retain a wealth tax. It’s true that older middle-income voters are more likely to stay put, but they also have a tendency to vote with their self-interest in mi...

Events

1 week ago Europe’s rich are watching Norway’s election debate on wealth taxes

Changes to taxation are at the heart of the centre-right’s attempts to retake power in Norway

Politics

1 week ago Europe’s rich watch Norway’s election debate on wealth taxes

Changes to taxation are at the heart of the centre-right’s attempts to retake power

Politics

1 week ago UK at ‘tipping point’ as millionaires consider moving abroad over wealth tax fears

More than half of the 1,000 wealthy respondents also said they are more likely to consider leaving the UK if Rachel Reeves introduces a wealth tax

Economics

1 week ago Voices: ‘Owning a £500k home does not make you rich’: Readers challenge Reeves’ property tax plan

Our community has hit out at plans for a £500k property tax, saying it unfairly hits ordinary homeowners and needs higher thresholds or regional tweaks

Economics

1 week ago Kirstie Allsopp leads fury at Rachel Reeves' new property tax plan 'to punish Britons for working hard': Labour raid on ALL homes worth more than £500k is 'wealth tax in all but name'

The Chancellor has been accused of seeking to 'punish people' for making sacrifices to buy their own homes.

Economics

1 week ago Fury at Rachel Reeves' new property tax plan to 'punish Britons for working hard': Labour raid on ALL homes worth more than £500k is 'wealth tax in all but name'

The Chancellor has been accused of seeking to 'punish people' for making sacrifices to buy their own homes.

Economics

2 w. ago If you're rushing to beat Rachel Reeves' inheritance tax raid and protect your wealth you must read this. These are the costly hidden pitfalls experts say you need to know about

The threat of another inheritance tax raid could goad growing numbers of people into making generous gifts to loved ones before the taxman can swipe their family wealth.

Economics

2 w. ago Tax the rich more to fill black hole in public finances, Labour members tell Starmer

Exclusive: PM urged to conduct a ‘radical change of direction’ as the government attempts to plug gaps in the public finances

Economics

2 w. ago Wealth managers fear for future of UK’s ‘generous’ inheritance tax loopholes

Advisers raise concern that chancellor could tighten rules exempting some assets from death duties

Economics

2 w. ago Inheritance tax and the rise of ‘giving while living’: Smart ways to pass on wealth tax

With rule changes and frozen thresholds, more people are exploring financial gifting in their lifetime

Economics

2 w. ago Keir Starmer ‘plans rise in inheritance tax’ to ease debt crisis

Critics see inheritance tax, charged on estates valued at more than £325,000, as being a wealth tax in all but name

Economics

3 w. ago Scottish Secretary Ian Murray gives wealth tax verdict as deputy prime minister Angela Rayner pushes for move

The Scottish Secretary said a tax on the highest income earners would lead to ‘flight’ of wealthier people abroad.

Politics

3 w. ago Voices: Rachel Reeves must learn a hard lesson from Labour history – wealth taxes simply don’t work

Taxing unearned income is no way for the chancellor to plug her £41bn spending black hole – the better-off are best placed to find a way around paying it, says Chris Blackhurst

Economics

3 w. ago Voices: ‘The whole tax system needs radical reform’: Readers weigh in on Reeves’ fiscal trilemma

Our community is split on how Rachel Reeves should resolve her fiscal trilemma, with readers divided between raising taxes, cutting spending, relaxing borrowing rules or boosting growth through closer EU ties

Politics

3 w. ago Which tax rises could the government introduce to fill the £41bn black hole in Britain’s finances?

Labour’s pledge not to raise taxes on ‘working people’ leaves the chancellor with a limited number of workable options to fill a massive black hole in the public finances

Economics