Over 10,000 people have now signed an open letter from Labour MP Richard Burgon, calling on the Prime Minister and Chancellor to tax wealth in the Autumn Budget to fund emergency action on the cost-of-living crisis.

Burgon’s open letter calls for fair taxes on the very wealthiest to create a Social Emergency Fund — providing immediate help for households struggling with the soaring costs of food, rent, and energy.

Richard Burgon MP said: “While the wealth of those at the very top continues to skyrocket, millions of people have been forced to the brink and are having to make impossible choices between heating their homes and putting food on the table.

“It doesn’t have to be like this. If we tax the wealthiest fairly, we can create an emergency package of support to help people hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis.

“We have the resources in this country to ensure everyone gets the help they need — it’s simply a question of political will.

“The Government must use the Budget to show whose side it is on and deliver the support ordinary people are crying out for.”

The open letter — which will be delivered to the Prime Minister and Chancellor ahead of the Budget — sets out three key measures to ensure the wealthiest pay their fair share:

– A 2% annual Wealth Tax on assets over £10 million, raising up to £24 billion a year.

– Equalising Capital Gains Tax with Income Tax, raising up to £12 billion a year.

– Clamping down on tax loopholes and abuses used by the super-rich and large corporations.

Even using conservative estimates of the amounts raised by tackling tax avoidance, these measures could raise over £40 billion — enough to fund a major emergency package to support struggling families.

Polling consistently shows overwhelming public support for fair wealth taxes. Some 75% of the public back a 2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million. The cost of living is still the top priority for people

The open letter can be found here.

Image: Official portrait of Richard Burgon MP. Source: https://members-api.parliament.uk/api/Members/4493/Portrait?cropType=ThreeFour,  licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.