Dear Constituent,
Thank you for getting in contact with me regarding the UN Tax Convention and the parliamentary drop-in session on 3 February. Unfortunately, due to prior diary commitments, I was unable to attend the event, but I hope that it was a success.
I understand your desire to see more action being taken globally to tackle climate change. In my view, our approach must be pragmatic and safeguard people’s living standards, energy security and financial wellbeing. With the UK accounting for around one per cent of global emissions, our efforts must be proportionate and focused on practical solutions.
Ultimately, climate change is a global issue, one that will only be dealt with when other countries that pollute far more than the UK match the progress we have already made. While the UK must continue working towards its environmental commitments, it is important to recognise that we account for only 1 per cent of global emissions.
The UK has already committed to spending £11.6 billion on international climate finance between 2021/22 and 2025/26, honouring our commitments to help developing countries under the Paris Climate Agreement.
I understand that the Government has said that a UN Tax Framework Convention has the potential to advance international tax cooperation. However, to be successful, it must be clear in its aims, avoid duplicating initiatives, and seek to secure the broad support and participation of members.
On your point about tax, while the UK does not have a comprehensive, single wealth tax, it does have several taxes on assets and wealth. Notably, the independent Wealth Tax Commission found in 2020 that the UK is among the top of the G7 countries for wealth taxes as a percentage of total wealth.
At a time when the UK is already facing an impending economic crisis thanks to the Government's poor fiscal choices and efforts to drive up the cost of energy, I do not believe the UN should be allowed to set even higher taxes for families and businesses in the UK when major polluters such as China continue to avoid taking any action on lowering their own carbon emissions.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Yours sincerely,