Received from: Accord
Working people are facing unprecedented pressure on their household incomes as wages continue to lag behind inflation.
This isn’t true for everyone though. CEO pay is up 23 per cent in the last year, bankers’ bonuses are at a record high since the financial crash and dividends are rising three times faster than wages.
In short, wealth is being rewarded, work is not. What is worse is under our flawed system this expanding wealth is not being taxed fairly. This must now be addressed.
Of course, a strong and growing economy is a prerequisite for funding decent public services and fairly rewarding our public service workers. A fair tax system is critical to that too.
Who pays tax, and how much they contribute, are political choices. They have direct impacts for our essential public services and our wider infrastructure. These choices impact directly on fairness and the cost-of-living of working people too.
The money you make from working hard shouldn’t be taxed at a higher rate than the money shareholders and property investors generate from their existing wealth.
Equalising capital gains tax and income tax would generate an extra £10bn into the Treasury, to fund public services and public sector pay.
There are other options to explore as well.
Congress calls upon the TUC to develop proposals to enable the General Council to lead a debate on reform of our tax system in the UK to deliver fairer outcomes for working people, public services and public sector pay.
Accord
AMENDMENT
› In paragraph 8, sentence 1 (after ‘There are other options to explore as well’), remove the full stop and add:
“, including applying a wealth tax, ending inheritance tax loopholes that benefit the already wealthy and implementing a tax on share buybacks.”
› In paragraph 8, after the end of the paragraph, insert a new sentence:
“Congress also calls on the TUC to lobby the government and the Labour Party to introduce a fairer system of taxation.“
Communication Workers Union
AMENDMENT
› Insert new para after ‘There are other options to explore as well’:
“Congress notes that the Public Accounts Committee said in January 2023 that the UK
is missing out on £42bn of unpaid tax because HMRC does not have enough resources including staff.”
› Insert new final para:
“These proposals to include an increase in staffing to crack down on tax evasion and close the tax gap.”
Public and Commercial Services Union
AMENDMENT
› In the penultimate paragraph, at the end add:
“Congress notes that whatever shape the tax system takes it can only be delivered through a properly resourced and funded HMRC”.
› In the final paragraph, at the end add:
“That debate to include support for a fully resourced cadre of civil servants to effectively deliver taxation policy”.
FDA