Former British health minister Wes Streeting, a potential candidate for the leadership of the Labour Party, said he backed the introduction of tax changes which would equalise capital gains tax with income tax to make the system “fairer”.
Streeting said on Saturday that he wanted to challenge embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer if there is a contest, days after he stepped down and urged Starmer to set a timetable for his departure.
The former health minister, who has already said he believes Britain should seek to rejoin the European Union, said on Thursday that another of his proposals would be changes to capital gains tax.
Capital gains tax is paid on profits of more than 3,000 pounds ($3,900) made when an asset is sold, and rates depend on how much the seller usually pays in income tax, and how large the gain is.
Streeting would raise the rates of the tax from 18%-24%currently to as much as 40% and 45% depending on a person’s income tax bracket. According to one study, the change would raise £12 billion a year.
“We need a wealth tax that works. A pound made from simply owning assets should not be taxed less than a pound made from a hard day’s work,” Streeting said in a press release.
Labour’s Andy Burnham is seen as a possible frontrunner in any leadership bid, although he needs to win the Makerfield seat near Manchester on June 18 before he can launch a challenge.
(Reporting by Sarah Young）
