Lady Nugee insists on lowering the top income tax rate

We’re a little surprised, if we’re honest, to find ourselves agreeing on tax policy with Emily Thornberry. In her attempt - no, stop giggling at the back there - to become leader of the Labour Party she has said that tax rates should be changed so that the rich pay the average tax rate that the rich do in rich countries. We think that’s a pretty good idea. Not perfect of course, because it’s hardly a matter of pride that the state steal more, but certainly better than the current situation:

Emily Thornberry will campaign to tax the wealthiest people in society more if she is elected leader of the Labour party.

The former barrister said it was only right the richest should take on the biggest share of the tax burden, claiming that under the Conservatives the wealthiest people and businesses have been paying less.

The UK does have a progressive taxation system, the rich do carry a larger share of that tax burden. The interesting thing though is this next demand:

“The people who own the most are actually paying less in terms of the percentage. Tax rates have gone down. I’d put them back up to make them the average of the rich countries around the world,” she told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme.

A useful definition of rich countries is those who belong to the rich countries club, the OECD. Their top income tax rates are here. The mean of those top rates (unweighted by population) is 42.4%, the UK top income tax rate is 45%.

Thus the argument is that UK top income tax rates should be reduced - we agree.

This isn’t, of course, what Ms. Thornberry either believes or means to say. But then that just shows that Lady Nugee suffers from a certain haziness about reality.