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Why was a wealth tax for the UK abandoned?: lessons for the policy process and tackling wealth inequality

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  • Glennerster, Howard

Abstract

The distribution of wealth is widening in many countries and with it the growing importance of inherited wealth. In 1974, a Labour Government came to power in the United Kingdom committed to introducing an annual wealth tax. It left office without doing so. Using the official archives of the time and those of a key advisor this paper traces both the origins of the policy and its fate at the hands of the civil service. It explores two related questions. What does this experience tell us about the role of the civil service in the policy process in the UK and what lessons might be learned by those wishing to tackle the issue of widening wealth disparities today?

Suggested Citation

  • Glennerster, Howard, 2012. "Why was a wealth tax for the UK abandoned?: lessons for the policy process and tackling wealth inequality," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 42582, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:42582
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/42582/
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    Cited by:

    1. Martina Lawless & Donal Lynch, 2018. "Scenarios and Distributional Implications of a Household Wealth Tax in Ireland," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 16(02), pages 27-31, August.
    2. Andy Summers, 2021. "Ways of taxing wealth: alternatives and interactions," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(3-4), pages 485-507, September.
    3. Niemann, Rainer & Sureth-Sloane, Caren, 2015. "Investment effects of wealth taxes under uncertainty and irreversibility," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 192, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    4. Arun Advani & Helen Miller & Andy Summers, 2021. "Taxes on wealth: time for another look?," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(3-4), pages 389-395, September.
    5. Rainer Niemann & Caren Sureth-Sloane, 2019. "Investment timing effects of wealth taxes under uncertainty and irreversibility," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 89(4), pages 385-415, June.
    6. Markina Oksana, 2022. "Taxation, Inequality, and Poverty: Evidence from Ukraine," Central European Economic Journal, Sciendo, vol. 9(56), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Rainer Niemann & Caren Sureth-Sloane, 2015. "Investment Effects of Wealth Taxes under Uncertainty and Irreversibility," CESifo Working Paper Series 5610, CESifo.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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