TaxHow should the government pay for what it does?
Mainly income tax, National Insurance, VAT and corporation taxCurrent policy
No change
Cut income tax: raise the tax-free allowance to £15,000, then £20,000
Costs £21bn to £80bn a year. Lost revenue: £21bn at £15,000, up to £80bn at £20,000 Cost figure: Reform UK, via City AM, Sept 2026; Institute for Fiscal Studies, May 2025.
Changed: Reform now pledges £15,000 in its first budget, then £20,000 over time
Add an annual tax of 1% on fortunes over £10 million, and 2% over £1 billion
Raises £50bn to £70bn a year. Revenue raised. Proposer's own estimate Cost figure: Green Party 2024 manifesto (Big Issue).
Replace most taxes with a tiny charge on every electronic paymentBeyond the mainstream
- Edgar Feige, economist (presented to the US President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, 2005) (academic) · econwpa.ub.uni-muenchen.de · checked 27 October 2026
An academic proposal by the economist Edgar Feige. No major party has backed it.
Designed to raise the same total. Replaces most existing taxes Cost figure: Edgar Feige: designed to raise the same revenue as the taxes it replaces.
Move to a land value tax: a yearly charge on what land is worth, starting with a survey of who owns it
Not costed yet. Not costed: a long-term aim in the Greens' 2024 manifesto
Borrow more to invest in things that grow the economy, like clean energy, and let the growth pay it back
- New Economics Foundation (think tank) · neweconomics.org · checked 27 October 2026
Not costed yet. Depends how much is borrowed
Tax to keep inflation down and share wealth fairly, not to pay for spending: the UK issues its own poundsBeyond the mainstream
- Andrew Baker and Richard Murphy, economists (modern monetary theory) (academic) · cambridge.org · checked 27 October 2026
Modern monetary theory, set out for the UK by the academics Andrew Baker and Richard Murphy. No major party has backed it.
Not costed yet. Not about raising money: tax is set to keep inflation in check
Let the Bank of England create money directly for public investment, instead of banks creating it as loansBeyond the mainstream
A proposal from the campaign group Positive Money, which it calls public money creation.
Not costed yet
The poll on this question
- YouGov, 23 July 2026: 76% A 2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million. 2,167 people, GB. Paid for by Oxfam.
