The Problem: The richest in society often avoid paying tax.
The Solution: An annual ball at Buckingham Palace for the nation’s top taxpayers.
I always thought it was strange that we published rich-lists each year but not a list of the top taxpayers. Everyone moans about rich people not paying tax, but we then publicise and celebrate wealthy people regardless of how much tax they pay. This needs to change; we should not see wealth itself as a mark of success, but how much tax you pay.
This idea draws on the lessons from one of my heroes, Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy, to use social pressure to drive change.
Rory’s example is that if you pay tax, which funds the NHS, you’re considered a mug, whereas if you donate money to build a new ward you’re lauded as a philanthropist.
So I propose a simple way to make paying tax desirable and use it as a very powerful status symbol. It’s a bit like the wealthy Prussians who donated their jewellery to help fund a war and got iron replicas in return, which for a few decades become more valuable than the originals as they signified not only that you were very wealthy, but you were so wealthy you could donate to support the nation.
As such, I suggest we have a prestigious annual ball at Buckingham Palace which the top 100 UK taxpayers attend. This would be the most exclusive social event of the year, with the fanciest red-carpet walk and publicity of any event in the UK, and so would be the hottest ticket in town. The only way to attend would be to pay a lot of tax – not philanthropy, not wealth, but tax.
This would not only help to change the perception of tax into something much more prestigious, but would also provide a very simple way to compare the top taxpayers with the rich list. Anyone on the top 100 rich list in the UK not attending the ball would immediately face scrutiny.
Indeed, the event could become so prestigious that some people might even register to pay tax in the UK just so they can get a ticket.
I would also suggest a summer party for the top 500-1,000 taxpayers – it would not be as big an event, but still very prestigious, and enable more people to join the desirable ranks of top taxpayers.
The key is to redefine what we celebrate – instead of celebrating pure wealth, we instead switch social norms to celebrate those who pay the most tax. Yes it’s great to be rich, and good on you, but only if you pay your fair share of tax. So if you earn £100 million a year, so what, but if you pay £50 million in tax a year then you are a legend.
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