Whose Wealth Is It Anyway?

Why Wealth Causes Poverty — and What We Must Do About It

By Tom Burgess, CEO, Taxpayers Against Poverty (based on a talk given to Hampstead & Belsize Labour Party 8 January 2026)

Something has gone fundamentally wrong with our tax system.

Taxation was never meant to punish people for being poor. It was meant to protect society — to fund the foundations of a decent life and ensure that everyone could meet their basic needs. Yet in the UK today, the tax system often does the opposite. It bears down hardest on those with the least, pushes people into hardship, and then costs the state billions dealing with the consequences.

Meanwhile, vast amounts of wealth — wealth created by all of us — sit largely untouched.

“We tax people who have the least, push them into hardship, and then spend billions managing the damage.”

That failure is not just inefficient. It is immoral. And the most important point of all is this: we know how to fix it.

The uncomfortable truth

The truth is simple, though uncomfortable. The problem is not a lack of ideas or evidence. It is a lack of political will.

We already understand how poverty is created, and we already know which policies would reduce it. Yet year after year, we choose not to act. Instead, we accept rising inequality as inevitable, even natural, when in reality it is the result of deliberate design choices.

At Taxpayers Against Poverty, we believe change begins by going to the root of the problem — and by using the tax system we already have to reduce poverty now, while reshaping it for the future.

What we all want — and why the system fails

Across society, people want broadly the same things. Nutritious food. Secure housing. Decent work. Safe communities. The chance not merely to survive, but to thrive.

Yet our economic system repeatedly fails to deliver these basics for millions. We live with a set of contradictions that should trouble us deeply. There is enough food, yet people go hungry. We live in democracies, yet economic power is highly concentrated. We know how to live sustainably, yet continue to consume as if resources were infinite. We affirm human rights, yet tolerate profound economic harm.

We can do better — and the evidence proves it.

Inequality is not abstract

Inequality is not a theoretical concern. It is measurable, visible, and damaging.

Countries with higher levels of income and wealth inequality consistently perform worse on almost every meaningful social indicator. Mental illness is more prevalent. Life expectancy is lower. Social trust erodes. Democracies become brittle.

The UK and the United States rank among the most unequal wealthy nations — and also among the weakest on social outcomes. This is not coincidence. It is cause and effect.

“This isn’t coincidence. It’s cause and effect.”

Why wealth matters more than wages

Too often, political debate focuses narrowly on wages while ignoring wealth. But wealth — not income — is where power now sits.

Wealth means having more than enough. And today, wealth is increasingly hoarded rather than circulated. When someone struggling receives £100, it is spent immediately in the local economy. When someone already wealthy receives £100, it is far more likely to be saved, invested, or extracted.

When wealth stops circulating, opportunity stops with it.

“When wealth stops circulating, opportunity stops too.”

Poverty is a policy choice

The scale of poverty in the UK is not the result of scarcity. Around 14 million people live in poverty, including more than four million children, at the same time as wealth at the very top continues to surge. The richest 1% now own more wealth than the poorest 70% combined.

This tells us something crucial: poverty is not the absence of wealth. It is the result of how wealth is distributed.

“Poverty is not inevitable. It is a political choice.”

When public money entrenches poverty

Extreme wealth accumulation and poverty are two sides of the same coin. As wealthy individuals and corporations buy up assets — land, housing, infrastructure — everyone else must pay to access them through rent, fees, and debt.

At the same time, our tax system remains outdated and deeply regressive. It taxes work far more heavily than wealth, rewards extraction over contribution, and leaves public services underfunded. The result is unnecessary hardship, missed opportunity, and wasted human potential.

Public money should be a tool for ending poverty — not entrenching it.

What needs to change

If extreme wealth causes poverty, then taxing wealth fairly is not radical — it is rational. A progressive wealth tax on the very richest, aligning capital gains with income tax, and reforming corporation tax to reward genuine social contribution would all reduce inequality while strengthening the economy.

Equally important is stopping the practice of taxing people into hardship. It makes no sense to tax income below the level required for a decent life, or to demand council tax from renters who do not own the assets being taxed. A fair property or land value tax would be simpler, fairer, and more effective.

Finally, wealth must be reinvested in the public good. No one becomes wealthy alone. Every fortune depends on education, healthcare, infrastructure, law, and security. Reinvesting wealth through fair taxation into the NHS, education, and affordable housing is not punishment — it is repayment.

“Real prosperity is built together — not hoarded at the top.”

What this would achieve

Reducing poverty is not just a moral imperative; it is economically sensible. It improves health, boosts productivity, reduces long-term public spending, and rebuilds trust in politics.

More equal societies are healthier, safer, and more stable. These outcomes are well-established — and achievable.

What Taxpayers Against Poverty is doing

This is why Taxpayers Against Poverty exists. We campaign to tax wealth more and income less, build parliamentary support for reform, challenge policies that entrench hardship, and work with partners to put poverty reduction at the centre of public decision-making. See TAP's Top Ten Tasks for 2026

We also work to bring greater honesty, respect, and compassion into public life — because lasting economic reform requires cultural change as well as policy change.

How you can help

Change does not happen by accident. It happens when people challenge the idea that “there is no money”, support organisations pushing for reform, and demand fairness in their communities and political institutions.

“The real question is not whether we can afford to tackle poverty — but whether we can afford not to.”

Real wealth is not what is hoarded at the top. It is what we build together.

The evidence is clear. The solutions are ready. What we need now is the will to act — and that starts with all of us.

For media inquiries, interviews, or to support TAP campaigns, please contact:

Tom Burgess, CEO, Taxpayers Against Poverty  taxpayersagainstpoverty@gmail.com www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk  www.realagenda.org

About Taxpayers Against PovertyTaxpayers against Poverty is a UK-based independent advocacy group dedicated to tackling poverty, inequality, and economic injustice TAP seeks to influence national and local policy by promoting practical economic proposals that have a positive effect on reducing poverty and unnecessary financial hardship using a direct approach to decision makers and other influencers.

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’s sister organisation is Compassion in Politics which seeks to bring more honesty, respect and compassion into political life.