Jeremy and others
Jeremy it seems that The Guardian agrees with you, please have a look at to-day's article
How to kickstart the UK economy-at zero cost to 99% of us - by Michael Meacher.
Also contains some startling figures on wealth/income distribution.

Meacher's argument is simply b.s. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/31/how-to-kickstart-uk-economy)

he says
"In the short term, the most feasible approach is to impose a capital gains tax charge at the current rate of 28% on the topmost layers of wealth, the £155bn gains amassed by the 0.003% over the last three years"

The 0.003% he's talking about are the richest 1,000 in the population and the £155bn gain the claimed increased (by the Sunday Times, not HMRC) in their wealth since 2008.

But, there's no "capital gain" as we know the term today - i.e. when selling an asset that attracts CGT.

I'm sure all (or nearly all) of these 1,000 people have businesses. It's the value of the businesses that have increased since the low point in 2008.

On what grounds is he going to say to these 1,000 business "based on no current law - but maybe a retrospective one I've just made up - please give me 28% of the increase in the value of your business since my arbitrary starting low point of 2008" ?

Where would they get the 28% from ? Sell shares, crashing the value of 1,000 firms ? Would cause a massive backlash against the UK from businesses, government having no respect for the law.

Plus, it would never work. Before they could get the law passed, the businesses would relocate their head offices abroad (rightly so) and avoid this.

Clive B
There is abuse in every segment of income group.
Why do you always highlight the bottom/benefits end? Why not some of the others.

Clive B
c). Use of service companies to reduce individual tax paid at the upper end.
d) Variety of schemes the banks use to reduce tax such as the recent one taken up by HMRC against Barclays.
There are many others

Clive B

Anybody who believes that living on benefits is cushy should try it. The red tape is horrendous, the allowances when finally obtained are pitiful. The rules are full of weasel words that let the authorities "deem" and "assume" . This allows them to lie and cheat with false assumptions that cannot be challenged because reasons and evidence are never supplied. Benefit claimants are denied justice like political prisoners in totalitarian states.

I know this is the current situation from listening to others recount their experiences. I was on benefits briefly in the early eighties recession and again in the early nineties recession. It was bad then and is worse now.

I don't expect you to change your mind because I say so and I don't expect you to do any investigating for yourself. Believing the sort of lies put out by the Daily Mail and the rest of the gutter press is just so convenient for so many people.

Tories believe that:

If they are OK then everyone else should be.

If other people fail to live up to that belief, it is because they are bad people.

If they help the poor only encourages bad behaviour and idleness.