Should Capital Gains Tax (CGT) be raised to up to 45% to fund higher income tax personal allowances?
Current CGT rates stand at 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and 24% for higher and additional-rate taxpayers on most assets from April 2026, with an annual exempt amount of £3,000. The income tax personal allowance remains frozen at £12,570. In September 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey are reviewing a proposal from Labour donor Dale Vince to raise the top CGT rate to 45% to generate around £14 billion and increase the personal allowance to £15,570 at a £20 billion cost.
5 Opinions
Pay capital gains tax at 45% is criminal you pay tax on every penny you use to purchase. That should be enough. A little bit more for profit margins maybe reasonable on the sale but I am not convinced if you pay tax on the way in you don’t need to on the way out.
It's a nice thought but we have to be financially literate about CGT tax... when you nearly double the rate, investors simply sit on assets, move abroad, or freeze sales, causing real world tax take to collapse. Worse, funding a £20bn allowance hike with an uncertain £14bn paper estimate leaves a dangerous £6bn unfunded black hole. That in itself is a financial risk the country can't make.
Torn on this one, but I think overall it has a hugely negative effect. I am only trying to find ways to increase income tax thresholds which absolutely must happen.
The last thing we need is another anti-capitalist tax. I’ll say it again: can we stop distorting the market for FIVE minutes?
No, taxes should be cut down. Over taxation and red tape are killing economy, especially SME.