The 26 MPs calling for a wealth tax vote ahead of Labour's Budget
Fourteen Labour MPs are among 26 members of Parliament who on Monday signed an early day motion (EDM) in support of an annual levy of 2pc on individual assets over £10m.
EDMs are typically used by MPs to express support for a particular policy, and are one of the first steps towards an official debate.
The 26 MPs – who also included six Independents, four Plaid Cymru MPs and one Alliance MP – said that a wealth tax could raise an estimated £24bn a year, a tempting figure given the increase in Government borrowing to £20.7bn in June.
This higher-than-anticipated figure has raised chances of tax rises in the Budget as Chancellor Rachel Reeves seeks to plug a growing deficit.
Cabinet ministers have so far played down the chances of a wealth tax being implemented, with one saying it was 'off the table'.
The MPs' statement read: 'That such a measure would represent a fairer alternative to cuts and could provide urgently needed resources to tackle the poverty and inequality that blights our society – and calls on the Government to bring forward proposals for such a tax on extreme wealth ahead of the next Budget.'
Labour MPs Richard Burgon, Imran Hussain, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Kate Osborne, Kim Johnson and Ian Byrne have sponsored the motion. Of the six Independent MPs who signed the document, five have previously been Labour MPs, including Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Brian Leishman, who had the whip removed earlier this month.
Ms Maskell said: 'Increasingly, those with the highest levels of wealth are deriving their income from investments and assets, and yet their tax burden is inequitable.
'A wealth tax of 2pc on assets over £10m is popular, and is a first step in recognising progressive means of contributing to our country's future at a time when we need investment.'
Mr Leishman MP added: 'There are grotesque levels of inequality in Britain, the sixth largest economy in the world.
'It does not have to be this way. We should be redistributing wealth and power across society for the benefit of the many.
'While the Government has taken some welcome steps in the right direction, addressing non-dom status and imposing VAT on private school fees, these policies do not come close enough to tackling the gross inequalities the working class faces today.'
The motion was also backed by MPs including Diane Abbott, who was this month sanctioned for standing by comments in which she implied that the racism experienced by Jewish people was less significant than other forms of racism.
Vocal Corbyn supporters, Apsana Begum and John McDonnell, put their names to the motion, alongside Alliance MP, Sorcha Eastwood, and four Plaid Cymru MPs, including Ben Lake, Llinos Medi, Liz Saville Roberts and Ann Davies.
Some of Labour's biggest names, including Lord Kinnock, have advocated for a wealth tax. Ahead of this year's Spring Statement, Patriotic Millionaires, a campaign group which has long called for higher taxes for the super-rich, said that 80pc of UK-based millionaires would support a wealth tax.
But The Times reported earlier this week that Ms Reeves was resisting calls for the implementation of such a levy, with Cabinet ministers calling it a 'non-starter'.
Eight countries have previously implemented wealth taxes, including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Sweden and France, only to scrap them. Just four countries, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Colombia still have a wealth tax.
Dawn Butler, who is set to run in the 2028 contest for London Mayor, also backed the motion alongside Clive Lewis, Cat Eccles, Jon Trickett, Steve Witherden, Ian Lavery, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Grahame Morris and Imran Hussain.
In March, Ms Butler said a wealth tax would be a better way to bring in money than cutting public services.
She said: 'That is a better way to bring money in to help fill the black hole that we have found ourselves in because of the disaster of 14 years of Tory government.'
Plaid Cymru MP, Ann Davies, said: 'An overwhelming majority of people across the UK support a 2pc wealth tax on assets over £10m. It's time Labour started listening.
'People are still struggling with the cost of living crisis, and our public services are on their knees. Yet, Labour continues to target those least able to shoulder the burden, from cutting disability benefits to slashing pensioners' winter fuel payments.
'A wealth tax offers a genuine opportunity to tackle the deepening inequality in our society.'
A Treasury spokesman said: 'The best way to strengthen public finances is by growing the economy – which is our focus. Changes to tax and spend policy are not the only ways of doing this.
'We are committed to keeping taxes for working people as low as possible.'
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