At a private lunch of British executives at the Davos Economic Forum on 27th January 2012, George Osborne invited business leaders to make a case for scrapping the 50% highest rate of income tax. “Frankly,” he said, “if the business community wants to make the argument about how detrimental the 50% tax is for investment and job creation, it should go away and do it.” In a letter to the Daily Telegraph on 29th February, a consortium of businessmen duly complied. “Given the state of the British economy” they began “we urge George Osborne... to consider scrapping the top rate of tax in his forthcoming Budget. The tax… puts wealth creators like us in a very awkward position.” No similar invitation was extended to those of us who believe that the 50% tax should stay, but we thought we would join the party anyway. To be clear about what the 50% tax rate actually means: No matter who you are or what you earn, whether you are Wayne Rooney or Fred Goodwin, the first £34,370 of your annual income is taxed at 20%. Any further income between this amount and £150,000 is taxed at 40%, and then only anything you make above £150,000 is taxed at 50%. The UK has seen the divide between the highest and lowest earners grow more sharply than any other high-income country since 1975 . Between 1997 and 2008, average earnings of the bottom 50% rose from £16,000 to £17,000 per annum. Over the same period earnings of the top 0.1% rose from an average of £328,00 to £538,600. Whilst stagnant wages forced many people into debt, greed caused a worldwide financial collapse. With our society under severe pressure from the recession, the last thing we need is tax cuts for the super-rich. We believe better income equality is vital to a healthy economy, and that the 50% top rate of tax should be maintained as a means of achieving this.

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