Budget stops well short of the reforms Britain needs to create prosperity

While TAP welcomes higher taxes on banks, property and savings income to fund household relief, it calls for fundamental reform of Council Tax, Capital Gains Tax, and the taxation of online giants to deliver lasting prosperity.

London 29 October 2026: Taxpayers Against Poverty (TAP) has welcomed the direction of the Chancellor's Budget, particularly the decision to raise additional revenue from banks and income from savings and property to provide relief for households struggling with rising living costs.

However, the organisation warns that the measures, while welcome, do not go far enough in addressing the structural problems in Britain's tax system that contribute to inequality, financial hardship and uneven economic growth.

Tom Burgess, CEO of Taxpayers Against Poverty, said:

"The Chancellor may be getting the broad direction right. Asking banks and those receiving income from property and savings to contribute more, while providing relief to ordinary families, is a welcome step towards a fairer system.

"While the Budget may offer breathing space, there is now indication of future fundamental change. The government now needs to use that breathing space to develop reforms that will have a much greater impact over time.

"If the Prime Minister and Chancellor want to spread prosperity across the country, they need a tax system that supports that ambition. That means looking seriously at how we tax wealth, land and property, rather than continuing to make adjustments to an outdated system."

Tax wealth more fairly, bring Capital Gains Tax closer to Income Tax

TAP believes the Budget's approach to taxing income from assets more fairly should be extended to Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

Tom Burgess said:

"Why should someone who earns money from the increase in value of an asset often pay a lower rate of tax than someone who earns the same amount through work? We want to see Capital Gains Tax rates brought closer to Income Tax rates, with appropriate protections for genuine business investment and entrepreneurship. That would be a logical next step in creating a tax system that rewards productive activity while ensuring wealth contributes fairly to the prosperity of the country."

Council Tax reform is long overdue

TAP is also calling for a comprehensive reform of property taxation, including replacing the outdated Council Tax system. In England, Council Tax bands are still based on property values from 1991, despite enormous changes in property prices and regional values over the past 35 years.

"This is a glaring example of a tax system that has failed to keep pace with economic reality," Tom Burgess said. Two properties that had similar values in 1991 may have experienced very different increases since then, yet their Council Tax bands are still determined by those historic values. The government wants growth and prosperity to reach every part of Britain. We agree. But that requires a fairer property tax system that reflects current land values, rather than valuations made a generation ago.

"A modern system based on land values, with proper protections for people on low incomes, would provide a more rational foundation for local taxation and could help support balanced regional development."

Online giants must contribute fairly to thriving high streets

TAP welcomes the Budget's decision to make online marketplaces responsible for collecting VAT on qualifying sales by UK businesses.

However, it believes the government should go further in examining how large online businesses contribute to the communities and infrastructure on which they depend.

Tom Burgess added:

"The Chancellor wants to restore Britain's high streets. So do we!

Making online marketplaces responsible for collecting VAT is a sensible step, but it does not resolve the wider imbalance between businesses operating from expensive high-street premises and large online competitors. The government should examine a turnover-based tax on major online retailers, designed to ensure they make a fair contribution without penalising smaller businesses or undermining investment.

"Supporting high streets requires more than temporary Business Rates relief. It needs a taxation system that reflects how modern commerce actually works."

From short-term relief to lasting prosperity

TAP also welcomes the government's commitment to introduce a new category of ringfenced preventive spending at the 2027 Spending Review. The organisation believes this could help shift government policy away from repeatedly managing the consequences of poverty towards preventing hardship before it occurs.

Tom Burgess continued:

"Preventing poverty is not simply a moral objective. It is an economic opportunity.

When people have secure incomes, affordable homes and the opportunity to participate fully in the economy, they are better able to contribute to growth. At the same time, government can reduce some of the substantial costs associated with homelessness, ill health, debt and crisis intervention. Prevention must become part of the way we design taxation, public spending and economic policy — not simply another category of expenditure."

TAP offers to work with government on reform

TAP is calling for a comprehensive, phased programme of tax reform, developed collaboratively with government, businesses, economists and civil society.

The organisation has secured 33 MPs from five political parties as signatories to its Prioritise Poverty Prevention Pledge and is developing a parliamentary briefing programme to support informed discussion of practical solutions.

Tom Burgess concluded:

"We recognise the difficult economic circumstances facing the Chancellor and the importance of maintaining business confidence and fiscal stability. We are not suggesting that fundamental tax reform can happen overnight. But government can begin setting out the direction, consulting on the options and developing a credible timetable. The Chancellor has taken some steps in the right direction. We want to help government build on them.

"Breathing space is welcome. Now let's use it to build lasting prosperity."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Budget measures referenced

• Temporary increase in the Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge from 3% to 6%.

• Further two-percentage-point increases in tax rates on savings and property income from April 2027.

• £100 Household Energy Payment for eligible households in England from January 2027.

• Online marketplace VAT collection responsibility extended to qualifying UK business sales from October 2027.

• New ringfenced preventive spending category planned for the 2027 Spending Review.

Three editorial points

1. Council Tax valuation date corrected. It is 1 April 1991 in England, not 1988. Wales uses 2003 valuations, so I've specified England.

2. Online turnover tax. I've made this a proposal for examination rather than an assertion that it is the only solution. A tax on turnover can affect low-margin businesses disproportionately and potentially increase consumer prices. TAP will need a credible model, particularly if it wants to engage constructively with Treasury officials.

3. The central argument is stronger. Rather than criticising the Budget for being a collection of sticking plasters, TAP now recognises the rationale behind the immediate measures and identifies the next logical steps. The Budget's additional bank surcharge, increases in property and savings income taxes, and online marketplace VAT measure are confirmed in the Treasury documentation.

For media enquiries, interviews, or comment: Tom Burgess, CEO, Taxpayers Against PovertyEmail: media@taxpayersagainstpovery.org  Website: www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk

About Taxpayers Against PovertyTaxpayers against Poverty is an independent, non-partisan organisation campaigning for practical policies that prevent poverty, reduce inequality and unnecessary financial hardship, and create better long-term value for taxpayers. Its current policy programme includes The Prevention Dividend, Connected Britain, Green Prosperity, Location, Location plus tax reform, housing, transport, and inclusive economic growth.

TAP was founded by the late Rev Paul Nicolson and is led by Tom Burgess, author of From Here to Prosperity, a new political agenda for a sustainable economy and greater social justice, which proposes taxing wealth more and income less. TAP is part of Real Agenda Network, a not-for-profit social enterprise bringing together campaigns, research, media and public engagement to tackle poverty, inequality and the barriers preventing people from thriving, this includes Compassion in Politics which seeks to bring more honesty, respect and compassion into political life; The Progressive Policy Unit (PPU) which develops practical, evidence-based proposals on poverty prevention, economic fairness, taxation, public services and social wellbeing; Purple Shoots which helps people excluded from mainstream finance start sustainable microbusinesses by providing small ethical loans alongside practical support and mentoring, creating income, independence and stronger local economies as well as Real Agenda Radio (RAR) which is the network’s media platform, providing podcasts, interviews and commentary that amplify under-reported issues, challenge conventional thinking and give a voice to people working for positive social change.