Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Wealth tax
A proposed or existing tax on the value of wealth someone owns, often after subtracting debts.
Key term
What it means
A wealth tax is usually discussed as a tax on net wealth: the value of assets such as property and investments minus debts. It could be charged once or regularly, depending on how it is designed. An annual wealth tax would look at wealth held at a point in time, rather than waiting for an asset to be sold or a person to die. Which assets count, whether a tax-free amount applies and how hard-to-price assets are valued all affect what people would pay. The term does not refer to one universal UK tax with a single set of rules.
Example
Imagine a made-up proposal charging 1% on net wealth above £1 million. Someone with £1.2 million in net wealth would pay 1% of £200,000, or £2,000, under those simplified rules. This is not a description of UK law.
Why it matters
A proposal to tax wealth needs more detail than a headline percentage to show whom it would affect and how it would work.
Also known as
net wealth tax
Related terms
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Capital gains tax
A tax that may be due on the gain when someone sells or otherwise gives up an asset that has risen in value.
Read more -
Inheritance tax
A UK tax that may be due on the estate of someone who has died.
Read more -
Net worth
The value of what someone owns, minus what they owe.
Read more -
Top 1% wealth share
The share of all measured wealth owned by the wealthiest one in every hundred people or households.
Read more -
Wealth inequality
The gap between people in what they own, after subtracting what they owe.
Read more -
Windfall profits
Profits that rise unexpectedly because of an outside event rather than a planned improvement by the business.
Read more
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