Hiking CGT diminishes the incentive to save, leading to lower long-term growth and, ultimately, lower living standards. Since the tax is levied at the point of sale, it creates a “lock-in” effect, as people stop selling to postpone the tax. When those assets include small businesses which might benefit from new management, the problem is obvious.
Under Hunt’s chancellorship, the annual allowance has been slashed from £12,300 to £3,000. It hasn’t been indexed since 2008, meaning it’s not just real gains being taxed but inflation too. None of this is to mention that typically these assets are purchased using income that has already been taxed.
As Art Laffer has warned, raising the CGT rate lowers total profits, lowers total investments, and reduces wages and total employment. As a result, it lowers income tax receipts, payroll taxes, profits taxes, sales taxes and property taxes. It also means fewer job opportunities and higher welfare payments. How would Labour square this with promises to be “on the side” of working people?
But here’s the question which ought to give Starmer prickles of cold sweat: what happens when the tiny section of the population that funds the Government’s largesse decides to walk away?