Make Them Pay: We’re backing the call for a just tax system
The Make Them Pay march this Saturday (September 20th) will see thousands of people demanding that the Government introduce a just tax system. We back them.
Marchers are demanding the UK Government take substantive action to tax extreme wealth and polluting corporations, so the country can re-invest in public services, protect workers, and tackle the climate crisis.
The demonstration will assemble at Portland Place, London at 12 noon on Saturday 20 September and has been organised by the ‘Make Them Pay’ coalition, a civil society alliance made up of 70+ organisations, including Church Action on Poverty, Global Justice Now, the Climate Justice Coalition, War on Want, the PCS Union, the Fire Brigades Union and more. Organisers have stated they expect thousands of people to take to the streets.
Three key demands
Their protest aims to rally support for three key demands:
- Taxing the super rich to fund public services
- Creating decent, well-paid and unionised jobs in sustainable industries around the country
- Making polluting corporations foot the bill for climate action.
Why Church Action on Poverty supports the campaign
Make Them Pay: We want and deserve better
Izzie McIntosh, one of the lead organisers for the Make Them Pay demonstration says:
“Energy bills are rising, living standards are going down, climate change is destroying communities, and the super-rich are raking in the profits – all at our expense. No more. This September we will take to the streets, united in our thousands to demand our government makes them pay. While our political leaders roll out the red carpet to Trump – a megalomaniac bully who is bankrolled by billionaires and big oil – we will be on the streets representing the interests of ordinary people in this country, united in our diversity from all backgrounds and walks of life, who want and deserve better.”
Make Them Pay: Put people and planet before a wealthy few
Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, says:
“As people in the UK struggle to put food on the table or pay for extortionate energy costs and rents, billionaires and greedy corporations are getting filthy rich off the rest of us. It’s unforgivable that such a small but powerful minority is being allowed to amass extreme wealth while so many are facing desperate levels of hardship, and our planet pays the price for their reckless exploitation and overconsumption of its resources.
“People are waking up to the fact they’re being played by those who know how to game the system. That’s why we’re coming together in a bid to reclaim our power – because there’s strength in numbers – and to tell the government it must put people and planet before the interests of a wealthy few.”
Fariya Mohiuddin, Deputy Director: External Affairs at Tax Justice UK says:
“Millions of people in the UK want to see politics make their lives better; particularly after years of struggling to meet basic needs compounded by an erosion in public services like healthcare, childcare, and water.
“Despite a change in government, all we’re seeing is politics continuing to work in the interests of the super-rich and powerful who have continued to increase their wealth.
“This is underpinned by a tax system that has one set of rules to protect and grow the wealth of the super-rich, and another set for everyone else.
“It’s high time the government ends this two-tier system and taxes wealth properly, starting with a wealth tax and making sure wealth and work are taxed the same. This revenue can help to make childcare affordable, healthcare available and making lives better. Poll after poll shows clearly that, if the government fails to make people feel an improvement in their lives, they will lose the next election.”
Steve Wright, Fire Brigades Union general secretary says:
“Firefighters are on the frontline of the climate emergency, battling to keep the public safe from increasing wildfires and floods. But with 1 in 5 firefighter posts lost to austerity since 2010, the fire and rescue service is in a state of emergency. While public services have been cut to the bone, the oil and gas giants fuelling this crisis are raking in profits. Billionaires are hoarding more wealth than ever, and the rich continue to get richer at our expense. We demand that the government introduces a wealth tax to fund public services, create jobs, and build an economy that serves ordinary people instead of the super-rich.”
Make Them Pay: A growing case for change
Recent months have seen demands for a wealth tax in the UK – an annual levy on assets aimed at the ultra-wealthy in society – gain more prominence. The UK has a very high level of inequality, with the country’s 50 richest families holding more wealth than 50% of the population. Modelling from Tax Justice UK, shows that a 2% levy on individuals who own assets worth more than £10 million – which would affect only 0.04% of the UK population – would raise £24 billion a year. Meanwhile, energy bills in the UK are set to rise once more from October, affecting around 20 million households.
