A CHRISTIAN pressure group is calling on the Government to impose an immediate wealth tax to alleviate the financial crisis facing the country’s poorest ten per cent.

Also, the group, Church Action for Tax Justice, is requesting a review of the tax system which would include further taxes on the most well-off. It highlights data gathered during the pandemic which show that the richest one per cent of households are worth an average of more than £3.8 million: 230 times higher than the £15,400, or less, of the poorest ten per cent.

“Wealth inequality isn’t a product of the pandemic, but it has been greatly exacerbated as a result,” the group’s programme manager, Cat Jenkins, said. “Many of the poorest in society now find themselves in a perilous situation, facing benefit cuts, rising tax on their employment income, and a cost-of-living crisis. They’ve been well and truly left behind by the runaway gains enjoyed by the richest one per cent.

“As Christians, we believe we’re called to highlight injustices in our society, and to speak and act for change. In times as hard as these it’s even more crucial — and morally right — that the richest among us contribute a good measure towards the common good.”

The former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams, a supporter of the group, said: “Spiralling inequality is a major issue in our society, and all the evidence suggests that this is deeply damaging to our collective morale and trust. A wealth tax of the kind we are backing recognises that vastly disproportionate rewards for a very small number of citizens will not make for a cohesive and just national community.

“Contributing to the creation of a more cohesive and a more just system is not just a ‘tax burden’, but an opportunity to build a stable, sustainable economy that works for everyone.”