Story perspectives

Burnham Rejects Worker Tax Rise, Faces £12bn CGT Push

7/5/2026

Summary

Story summary

Tony Blair Institute warned Andy Burnham that raising capital gains tax to income-tax levels would send the wrong signal.
Andy Burnham pledged not to raise workers’ income tax, national insurance or VAT, but said he could tax warehouses to aid high-street pubs.
Wes Streeting and Louise Haigh urged aligning capital gains tax with income-tax rates.
Analysts estimate that aligning capital gains tax with income-tax bands could raise about £12 billion annually.

History

Historical Context

In 1988 Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson aligned capital gains tax with the 40 % top income-tax rate. Labour’s Gordon Brown lowered the uniform rate to 18 % in 2008, and George Osborne set a 10 % basic-rate in 2016, a figure echoed today. UK CGT receipts hit a significant record £17 billion in 2024-25.

1 of 2

Story summary

Tony Blair Institute warned Andy Burnham that raising capital gains tax to income-tax levels would send the wrong signal.
Andy Burnham pledged not to raise workers’ income tax, national insurance or VAT, but said he could tax warehouses to aid high-street pubs.
Wes Streeting and Louise Haigh urged aligning capital gains tax with income-tax rates.
Analysts estimate that aligning capital gains tax with income-tax bands could raise about £12 billion annually.

1 / 2