“Welfare isn’t waste – it’s the foundation of a decent society. We need investment in people, not punishment of poverty.”

Proposed Welfare Cuts Are Unnecessary and Unjust, Say Taxpayers Against Poverty

London, UK 30 March 2025– Taxpayers Against Poverty (TAP) today condemned proposed government cuts to welfare spending, calling them “harmful, economically short-sighted, and morally indefensible.”

“These cuts target the most vulnerable people in our society – families already struggling with rising rents, food insecurity, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis,” said Tom Burgess Executive Director of Taxpayers Against Poverty. “But the truth is, they are not necessary. There is a fairer and more sustainable alternative such as a modest tax on extreme personal wealth.”

TAP is calling for the introduction of a 2% annual tax on personal assets over £10 million, a measure that leading economists say would raise £24 billion in revenue – more than enough to protect vital welfare programmes and strengthen the social safety net. This would cause no hardship and would affect 0.04% of population that is just 20,000 people

“We all contribute to the wealth of this country through the work we do and the society we build, yet this wealth is accumulated by a few. It’s time that contribution was recognised and rewarded more equitably.”

This proposal is supported by groups such as Tax Justice UK and Patriotic Millionaires UK, a network of high-net-worth individuals who advocate for greater taxation of wealth to support public investment and reduce inequality.

“The super-rich have benefited from a system that we all uphold. It is only right that they invest back into the country that made their success possible,” added Tom Burgess “There is no economic justification for pushing disabled people, carers, or children deeper into poverty while billionaires accumulate ever more wealth, often untaxed.”

Key Facts:

• There 14 million people living in poverty with 2.5 million children living in food-insecure households.(Source: Joseph Rowntree Foundation)

• Public support for taxing wealth has grown significantly, with 77 per cent - would rather the UK Government increase taxes on the very richest to improve public finances than see cuts to public spending (Source: Oxfam/YouGov)

• The wealth of all UK billionaires soared by £11 billion last year (Oxfam, Patriotic Millionaires UK, Tax Justice UK), the same amount the UK Government has recently cut from the international aid and social security budgets combined.

·       Polling from Patriotic Millionaires UK shows 65% of UK millionaires support a 2% tax on assets over £10 million to help fund public services and tackle the cost of living crisis. The groundwork for such a tax is already well-developed;

Taxpayers Against Poverty urges the government to abandon the path of austerity and instead build a fairer tax system that serves the common good. “Welfare isn’t waste – it’s the foundation of a decent society. We need investment in people, not punishment of poverty.”