A New Tax

With the Government looking to cut expenditure and save money I thought it was time to suggest an increase in tax – not an increase in tax in the traditional sense, just a new higher tax bracket with a higher tax rate for those that fall into this bracket. It is simple – tax all earnings over £500,000 at a rate of 100%, well at least 90%. Surely no one can argue that half a million Pounds, Euros or almost any currency bar the Zimbabwe dollar is not enough to live on. Not when there are people in the UK living on less than £20,000 a year – thus anyone earning more than 25 times this amount is already living a life of luxury. One would struggle to spend this sort of money if one ate out at the cities top restaurants three times a day and travelled first class to far off places every weekend. In fact one could hire a personal chef, chauffeur and car, a live-in servant and a gardener and still have enough to buy a new suit each week.

People that are fortunate enough to earn this kind of money, have a great debt to the society that has allowed them to get there; A society that has given these people access to education, health and a free market economy; A society that has provided them with the means to produce and the freedom and safety to do so; A society that has allowed, even encouraged them, to reach this position of wealth – should be repaid handsomely. 

The main conjecture to this idea is a general fear that introducing this high tax bracket would discourage people from wanting to earn more. The rich would suddenly be skiving of work, failing to do their business duties, and ultimately bringing the whole economy to crushing standstill. This argument is based on the premise that people earning grand sums and bonuses (often in the business and banking world) do their jobs purely for monetary gain, and without huge incentives and bonuses they would walk off the job, stop caring, stop doing their best, and stop working with skill or desire. How sad! Doctors and fireman earn a salary. They cure the infirm and fight fires for their respective salaries. Generally, a bonus scheme has not been put in place to encourage them to treat more people or put fires out quicker. We assume they will work to the best of their abilities for their respective wages. Why then can the business elite not work hard for the betterment of their companies? And do so, simply for the more-than-adequate salaries that they receive.

All earnings up to half a million pounds will continue to be taxed at the standard rate and thus any people effected by this new tax will still be earning huge wages to do their jobs. They will work hard for their extensive wages and do their jobs well, unless they are greedy, and then who wants them working in the corporate sector when we strive for a more morally culpable and ethically sounds corporate sphere (especially after the traumas of recent years).

There is no way anyone can say that half a million pounds is not enough remuneration for any work being performed across the world. Surely then it is time that the society that gave this opportunity of wealth was repaid with a greater contribution of tax. I would say every dollar over half a million, but I don’t want to sound too pushy and we know the business types need incentives to do any work at all so best keep it at 90%, and then maybe we can cut the deficit and start working on building a society that everyone wants to be part of; a utopia where Government services are of the highest level, and everyone has access to the best education and health available.