Posts tagged "Capital Gains Tax"
A chart showing a massive increase in capital gains tax receipts in the last year. The article explains why this is, in fact, a very bad result.
6 October 2026 Policy

Capital gains tax reform was right. Now it’s dead.

For the third Budget in a row, everyone’s talking about capital gains tax. The Chancellor, John Healey, says he won’t give “any answers or signals that will fuel Budget speculation”, but in the same Sunday Times interview noted that the UK has the “lowest capital gains tax (CGT) of any European G7 nation”. To understand […]
CGT over time - the chart looks like someone having a heart attaack
18 June 2026 Policy

The history of UK capital gains tax in five charts

This article looks at the history of UK capital gains tax, and how revenues have changed when the rate and rules changed. There’s a separate article on reforming CGT here. The chart at the top of this page shows what happens if you plot UK capital gains tax revenues as a % of GDP since […]
Companies House filing showing Nikolay Storonsky changing his residence from UK to UAE
11 October 2025 Analysis

Could we have stopped Revolut’s founder from leaving the UK?

Nik Storonsky, the billionaire founder of Revolut, has reportedly left the UK and become tax resident in Dubai – a move that could save him more than £3 billion in UK capital gains tax. His departure raises a larger question for the UK tax system: could we have stopped him leaving? Either with the carrot […]
houses
21 August 2025 Analysis

Will Labour tax your house sale? Why CGT on homes makes no sense

Reports suggest Labour may introduce capital gains tax on home sales in the Autumn Budget. It sounds like an easy revenue raiser – but the evidence shows it would slash transactions, gum up housing chains, and could even collect less tax overall. With stamp duty already doing huge damage, the last thing we should do […]
Photo of an open laptop displaying a financial trading screen on a wooden desk: A silver MacBook Pro is open on a light wooden desk, showing a dark-themed cryptocurrency trading interface with candlestick charts and order books. Next to the laptop sits a glass jar containing an iced beverage, an iPhone, and a book by Kent Nerburn, with a softly blurred indoor café or office setting in the background.
16 October 2024 Policy

How to reform capital gains tax and cut income tax

Capital gains tax (CGT) is currently both too high and too low. It taxes investors at too high a rate when they’ve put capital at risk, only to see it eroded by inflation. But it enables a very low rate of tax for people who haven’t put capital at risk, but are able to pay […]
a confused woman facing both ways
12 April 2024 Analysis

Are you living with your spouse? The unreal world of capital gains tax

It’s very hard for normal people to understand tax legislation, and it’s often equally hard for tax lawyers, unless they have a deep familiarity with the rules. Here’s an example, promoted by the Angela Rayner CGT controversy (although I don’t believe this point has any bearing on her position). A couple who are not living […]
Angela Rayner
29 February 2024 Analysis

Did Angela Rayner fail to pay CGT on her house sale?

There is currently press speculation that Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner failed to pay CGT on her house sale. Ms Rayner’s statement suggests she may have misunderstood the law. In some scenarios that could mean she failed to pay CGT of up to £3,500, but potentially less or zero. The amount of tax involved is […]
Screenshot of an article on The Independent website published on 23 March 2023: INDEPENDENT Big in America > Push notifications > ENHANCED BY Google NEWS SPORT VOICES CULTURE LIFESTYLE TRAVEL PREMIUM MORE INDEPENDENT tv News > UK > UK Politics Rishi Sunak saved over £300,000 due to capital gains tax cut he voted for PM facing calls for reform to capitals gains tax rate after his mammoth income revealed Adam Forrest Political Correspondent, Kate Devlin • Thursday 23 March 2023 16:06 GMT • 36 Comments INDEPENDENT tv Rishi Sunak says he is 'glad' to have More Videos Close
28 February 2024 Policy

The UK tax system favours capital gains. Is it an outlier?

The recent publication of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer’s tax returns brought into focus the large difference between the marginal rates of tax on employment income (47%) and capital gains tax (20% for shares; 28% for real estate). Many people propose closing this gap. But how unusual is it in an international context? What do […]
Excerpt from a typed document discussing the 1987 BVCA tax arrangements: The 1987 arrangements were worked up in the face of considerable political pressure to find a solution, without legislation, to the perceived problems of the BVCA that would not involve them in taking their business offshore. The result is a structure that is technically suspect, and probably capable of exploitation for avoidance purposes in ways that have not yet come to light. None of this is intended as any criticism of those involved with the 1987 arrangements, but I think that we should try to avoid going down the same road again, and it follows that I do not [redacted]
6 October 2023 Analysis

Did the Good Law Project just kill carried interest?

The “carried interest loophole” means private equity executives pay tax at the low, low, capital gains rate of 28%, and not the 47% rate that an equivalent banker would pay. Earlier this year I wrote a slightly controversial paper, published in the British Tax Review, which suggested that the loophole didn’t actually exist. I said […]

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