TUC urges chancellor to consider wealth taxes ahead of November Budget

The Trades Union Congress has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to consider a range of wealth taxes in the autumn Budget as a way to increase investment in public services.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak told the BBC that the government needed to show “evidence of change” and urged ministers “not to take anything off the table”. He said the package of options should include taxing online gaming and gambling companies, levying windfall profit taxes on banks and financial institutions, equalising capital gains tax with income tax and considering “a wealth tax itself”. Nowak cited Spain as an example where a wealth tax has been introduced and described it as part of a strategy deployed elsewhere.

The Treasury responded by pointing to previous comments from Ms Reeves that the government had “got the balance right” in taxing the better off, noting recent measures announced on private jets and second homes. The department did not signal any new policy commitments in its initial reply but reiterated existing positions on taxation announced by ministers.

The TUC’s intervention comes ahead of its annual Congress, which opens this weekend and is expected to feature similar demands from individual unions. The organisation represents the bulk of the UK’s trade unions and has in the past used its congress to press the government on tax and public spending policy.

Nowak framed the call in terms of public confidence and fairness, saying people needed to be able to see changes that would fund public services and reduce inequality. He highlighted sectors where the TUC believes additional levies could be applied without deterring investment, including online gaming and gambling, and singled out banks and financial institutions for windfall levies on recent profits.

Debate over wealth taxation has re-emerged in recent years as governments and advocacy groups weigh how to balance revenue-raising with economic growth. Proposals such as equalising capital gains tax rates with income tax, one of the measures urged by the TUC, have both supporters and opponents within the political spectrum. The Treasury’s reference to measures on private jets and second homes reflects steps already announced by ministers to broaden the tax base for higher-value assets.

The Chancellor is due to set out the government’s fiscal plans in the November Budget, when any new tax policies would be formally announced. The TUC’s demand ensures that proposals for levies on wealth, capital gains and sector-specific windfalls will be prominent in public debate and scrutiny in the run-up to that fiscal statement.

The TUC’s proposals and the Treasury’s response are likely to be scrutinised by parliamentarians, business groups and unions over the coming weeks as unions set out priorities at Congress and political parties respond ahead of the Budget.