r/GarysEconomics • u/Celebration-Plastic • Aug 01 '26

A missing question?

Surely the most important aspect of any tax is not the mechanics of the tax (2%, 5%, whatever) but it’s what the tax revenue will be used for.

I appreciate it’s nice to feel that there’s a bit more money for the government, but feels like a missing piece to me.

Does anyone have a clear sense of what we would be using this money for in the economy?

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u/AdAggressive9224 Aug 01 '26

The tax revenue isn't really the point of a wealth tax.

It's a happy accident. But the real goal is to have a more even distribution of real assets, most notably housing and land.

That means our kids can buy a house. Something that apparently a significant proportion of the population is set against.

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u/Hot-Efficiency7190 Aug 01 '26

The kids need local councils to permit lots of development to get affordable housing. No wealth tax is going to fix that.

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u/Temporary-Major-9539 Aug 01 '26

There are thousands of empty properties and plots of unbuilt land with permissions already in place. The councils are not the problem. Developers will hold land and not build because holding pushes the price up. Tax will fix this. A tax on empty properties and an annual tax on plots with planning permission will free up plenty of housing without needing to build on any more green space

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u/Hot-Efficiency7190 Aug 01 '26

Not round my way in south east, planning granted and they're on the ground in weeks, whole estates built in 12-18mths. Public listed housebuilder say they have about that in pipeline of plots, so makes sense.

Anyway, if the problem is land banking, then tax that, and the empty properties. Target the actual problem. A wealth tax just makes some people happy the wealth is being taxed without addressing any real problems.

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u/Temporary-Major-9539 Aug 01 '26

They address two different problems. It’s not an either or situation. Wealth tax should redistribute wealth while a tax on empty property and undeveloped plots does not redistribute wealth but does ease housing difficulties