The Great British wealth windfall

House prices across the UK have rocketed over recent decades, and have continued to surge even when the rest of the economy collapsed during the Covid crisis. This has delivered a huge wealth windfall, that far from being shared equally has gone to existing asset owners. This windfall has also largely slipped past the tax system, which focuses instead on taxing transactions and residents through Stamp Duty and Council Tax.

What is the scale and distribution of the UK’s property wealth windfall? Should we shift the focus of property taxation towards capital gains rather than transactions? If so, how? Is there any public appetite for reforming our highly flawed approach to wealth taxes, and how can support for change be built on?

The Resolution Foundation, in partnership with Standard Life Foundation, is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on this topic, we will hear from leading experts on the nature of the wealth windfall, how the tax system might respond, and whether there’s any public support for such change.

The event will be open to physically attend, and also broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event.