London, 15 May. Today’s launch of a bold new UK Bill strengthens the growing call to make the super-rich pay to tackle the climate crisis. The legislation aims to stop government handouts to fossil fuel companies, tax the excessive wealth of corporate polluters, and ensure that operators of super yachts and private jets contribute to a fund supporting flood defences and home insulation. It’s a crucial step toward shifting the burden of the climate crisis off the shoulders of ordinary people and onto those who have profited most from environmental destruction.
The Bill is part of a growing global movement demanding that the richest 1%—those responsible for the lion’s share of global carbon pollution—finally pay what they owe. As climate disasters become more frequent and government support for pensioners, people with disabilities and low income communities is cut, people across the UK are calling on their MPs to back a tax on extreme wealth to repair crumbling public services and invest in renewable energy.
Matilda Borgström, UK campaigner at 350.org, said:
“The richest 1% produce as much carbon pollution as two-thirds of humanity while paying next to nothing in taxes. Public support for a tax on billionaires is growing fast—people are tired of being told there’s no money for healthcare, housing, or affordable renewable energy while billionaires hoard obscene wealth and dodge taxes. Governments can no longer justify pushing people with disabilities into poverty and leaving pensioners freezing in their homes while letting the super-rich shape public policy for their own gain.”
The numbers speak for themselves: 71% of the UK public believe the super-rich should pay more tax, according to recent polling from the Trade Union Congress. Over 100,000 people have signed a petition demanding governments tax extreme wealth. Even 72% of the UK’s wealthiest agree that tax loopholes must be closed and extreme wealth better leveraged for the public good.
At the international level, the UK must back global action to tax extreme wealth at the upcoming Finance for Development Summit in Seville, Spain. Nationally, this must be followed by decisive action in the Autumn Budget—targeting billionaires like Jim Ratcliffe and James Dyson to ensure their fortunes serve the many, not the few.
Just as firebreaks stop wildfires from spreading, a tax on the super-rich could halt the social and ecological destruction fueled by unchecked greed. A strong, fair tax on billionaires and fossil fuel giants in the UK, France, and Germany could unlock hundreds of billions every year for affordable clean energy, accessible public transport, warm homes, and future-proof jobs.
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Media Contact: Mark Raven, [email protected], +447841474125
Photos and video of a tax the super-rich protest outside the Treasury available here