General election 2024: Greens vow £70bn tax hike on wealthiest to drive change

The Green Party has pledged to raise taxes on top earners in its manifesto, claiming the plans will generate £70bn a year to mend “broken Britain”.

The party has set out what it calls a “game-changing” transformation in housing, transport and the green economy.

The plans include raising the National Insurance (NI) rate to 8% on annual wages above £50,270 – equivalent to an extra £283.74 per year in tax for someone earning £55,000.

Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said the Greens were the “only party being honest” about the scale of changes needed to fix the climate crisis, housing and the NHS​.

In the lead-up to the manifesto launch, the party committed to spending £50bn per year on health and social care by 2030.

The Greens are proposing a new wealth tax charged at 1% on all assets worth more than £10m, declared in a self-assessment tax return, increasing to 2% on all assets above £1bn.

They say this would affect fewer than 1% of UK households and raise £15bn a year by the end of the next Parliament, with the money going to the NHS.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Ramsay said the increase was “modest” by European standards and Greens wanted to challenge the “conspiracy of silence” on the need to raise taxes.

Asked about a similar, French wealth tax introduced in 2016, which one piece of research indicated could have led to the flight of millionaires – Mr Ramsay insisted the super rich would stay in the UK.

He said: “We have been cautious in the way we’ve done our modelling and assumed there will be a small number of millionaires who may leave as a result of this tax, so our numbers are cautious.

“But most people are not going to leave – most people want to be in this country because of their family, their business commitments.

“It’s not actually easy to just pack your bags and leave when you’ve got a successful business in the country, so it’s about asking those with the broadest shoulders to pay a bit more.”

There would also be extra taxes of £5 a week extra for those earning more than £50,270, through reforming the National Insurance (NI) system.

Currently employees pay no NI on earnings of up to £12,570, 8% on earnings of between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on earnings of above £50,270 for the 2023/24 tax year.

Under the Greens’ plans, the 8% rate would be paid on all wages above the upper earnings threshold.

On taxes, the Greens have said they would:

• Have no further increases on the main rates of corporation tax
• Introduce a carbon tax on businesses starting at £120 per tonne emitted, rising to £500 per tonne over ten years, to push businesses to decarbonise.
• Expand the 75% windfall tax on fossil fuel profits to banks, aiming to raise an extra £9bn a year.
• Bring Capital Gains Tax in line with income tax bands.

The party has set out details of a Green Economic Transition programme aiming to upgrade homes across the UK, making them warmer and cheaper to run by increasing energy efficiency.

The Greens plan to field candidates in every constituency in England and Wales for the 4 July election, but the party will focus their efforts on four seats they see as winnable.

Mr Ramsay also confirmed four out of 574 candidates have been replaced after the party launched an investigation into reports of antisemitic or extreme comments.

He said: “Out of that huge number, there were four who were originally selected who are now not going forward and have had new candidates put in their place.”

When pressed over other candidates who had been investigated, he said, “I can’t recite every candidate” adding that the process is “separate from the leadership as a matter of good governance”.

The Green Party’s tactic since the start of this campaign has been to paint Labour as being too similar to the Conservatives.

Ahead of the election launch, Mr Ramsay said: “Labour and the Conservatives would rather hide their plans for cuts to public services than confront the need for a fairer tax system that asks those with the broadest shoulders to pay more – including the very wealthiest in society who have grown even wealthier over the last 14 years​​.

“With more Green MPs in Parliament we will stop Labour backtracking on any more of their promises.

“We will push them to be braver, to be more ambitious, and to actually do what’s necessary to fix our broken country and get us back on track.”

The manifesto launch will take place in Hove.

Sian Berry, the party’s candidate for the Brighton Pavillion constitueny, said: “The time for half-measures and empty promises is over. Only the Green Party is offering real hope and real change at this election.”

BBC News will be covering the manifesto launch live, including questions to the party at a press conference and analysis of the details of their plans.

The Scottish Greens are a separate party.