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3. Wealth: Torsten Bell
Who is wealthy in today’s Britain? Is wealth fairly distributed? Is wealth fairly taxed? These are some of the questions we are asking in this episode.
Whilst those on lower incomes have found it harder and harder to accumulate savings or assets, people who already have assets such as housing are becoming wealthier. For this episode, we are joined by Torsten Bell from the Resolution Foundation. You may have heard Torsten on the Today Programme, or just about any other news programme, commenting on the fiscal and political issues of the day. We are pleased to have him with us to talk about this important issue, and to be partnering with the Resolution Foundation on a project which looks at wealth in the UK.
About wealth
Wealth has changed in Britain and our tax system has not kept up. The government’s continued focus on taxing workers, who are facing increasing living costs and low wage growth, ignores the ever-increasing (and largely tax-free) value of assets of the wealthy.
We are going to take a closer look at wealth, assets and money. Who has it? Where is the wealth in today’s Britain? Is it fairly distributed and mostly importantly, is it fairly taxed?
Should we be worried about people getting incredibly wealthy? Since the 1980s, wealth in Great Britain has surged from three to nearly seven times our GDP to over seven times. However, tax on wealth has remained flat.
This is not a podcast about increasing taxes. Well, it’s partly about that. But it’s about the complicated picture of wealth in modern Britain. It has changed and the tax system certainly hasn’t kept up.
We look at what it means when inheritance is the only way to become wealthy. If you believe in a society where you should be able to gain wealth through work, it’s not a pretty picture. Where does it leave society when young people can only hope to own a home through inheritance rather than income? What can we do about it? Torsten and Mubin discuss all this, as well as how wealth is measured (fancy curtains don’t cut it), Victorian novels and the merits of camping holidays.
The Wealth Audit
At Financial Fairness we are partnering with Resolution Foundation on a three-year project which looks at wealth in the UK. We produce an annual audit of wealth in the UK and take a deep-dive into areas of wealth where policy change is needed.
It’s not the Sunday Times Rich List, it looks at the whole of the UK population and identifies the wealth of the population as a whole. The make up of the UK economy, how wealth is divided, and the spread of wealth inequality are all covered. This episode touches on the latest findings from the wealth audit, including how the pandemic increased wealth inequality. During the pandemic household wealth for the top 10% increased by £50,000, taking their total wealth to £1.4m per adult. But for the bottom 30% of households it increased by just £86. It’s not just the super-rich who are getting richer.
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By abrdn Financial Fairness TrustWho is wealthy in today’s Britain? Is wealth fairly distributed? Is wealth fairly taxed? These are some of the questions we are asking in this episode.
Whilst those on lower incomes have found it harder and harder to accumulate savings or assets, people who already have assets such as housing are becoming wealthier. For this episode, we are joined by Torsten Bell from the Resolution Foundation. You may have heard Torsten on the Today Programme, or just about any other news programme, commenting on the fiscal and political issues of the day. We are pleased to have him with us to talk about this important issue, and to be partnering with the Resolution Foundation on a project which looks at wealth in the UK.
About wealth
Wealth has changed in Britain and our tax system has not kept up. The government’s continued focus on taxing workers, who are facing increasing living costs and low wage growth, ignores the ever-increasing (and largely tax-free) value of assets of the wealthy.
We are going to take a closer look at wealth, assets and money. Who has it? Where is the wealth in today’s Britain? Is it fairly distributed and mostly importantly, is it fairly taxed?
Should we be worried about people getting incredibly wealthy? Since the 1980s, wealth in Great Britain has surged from three to nearly seven times our GDP to over seven times. However, tax on wealth has remained flat.
This is not a podcast about increasing taxes. Well, it’s partly about that. But it’s about the complicated picture of wealth in modern Britain. It has changed and the tax system certainly hasn’t kept up.
We look at what it means when inheritance is the only way to become wealthy. If you believe in a society where you should be able to gain wealth through work, it’s not a pretty picture. Where does it leave society when young people can only hope to own a home through inheritance rather than income? What can we do about it? Torsten and Mubin discuss all this, as well as how wealth is measured (fancy curtains don’t cut it), Victorian novels and the merits of camping holidays.
The Wealth Audit
At Financial Fairness we are partnering with Resolution Foundation on a three-year project which looks at wealth in the UK. We produce an annual audit of wealth in the UK and take a deep-dive into areas of wealth where policy change is needed.
It’s not the Sunday Times Rich List, it looks at the whole of the UK population and identifies the wealth of the population as a whole. The make up of the UK economy, how wealth is divided, and the spread of wealth inequality are all covered. This episode touches on the latest findings from the wealth audit, including how the pandemic increased wealth inequality. During the pandemic household wealth for the top 10% increased by £50,000, taking their total wealth to £1.4m per adult. But for the bottom 30% of households it increased by just £86. It’s not just the super-rich who are getting richer.