Sunday Times Tax List: Wealth largely going untaxed
The New Economics Foundation reacts to the Sunday Times Tax List
31 January 2026
The New Economics Foundation (NEF) has responded to the publication of the 2026 Sunday Times Tax List, pointing out that the highest taxpayers in the UK are not necessarily the wealthiest people.
But the briefing shows that much wealth in the UK goes untaxed, due to under-declared capital income, complex tax avoidance schemes and offshore assets. NEF says that large parts of private wealth can remain invisible to policymakers and HMRC.
Hannah Peaker, deputy chief executive at the New Economics Foundation, said:
“There’s a reason that the Sunday Times Rich List and the Sunday Times Tax List are not one and the same. The people who contribute the most tax are not necessarily the wealthiest. Most wealth in this country is hidden from view. We have virtually no idea what the wealthiest people in the UK own, which means we can’t tax them properly.
“Taxes pay for the things we value the most: our health, our kids’ education and our local neighbourhoods. But we all need to contribute a fair amount to make this a reality – even the very wealthiest among us.
“It’s time for this government to figure out how to better tax income from wealth so that less falls through the loopholes. But first, we need the tools to know who owns what. A government programme to gather this information would enable us to make sure the wealthiest pay what they owe.”
A new NEF briefing recommends that this government launch a “high wealth compliance programme” to create the administrative systems, data and legal architecture required for HMRC to know who holds high levels of wealth. The programme would be a cross-department, time-bound initiative between HM Treasury, HMRC and the Cabinet Office, with the aim developing the capacity of the state to tax high wealth fairly and effectively by the end of this parliament.
Notes
The New Economics Foundation is a charitable think tank. We are independent of political parties and committed to being transparent about how we are funded.
The new briefing, Taxing invisible wealth, is available at https://neweconomics.org/2026/01/taxing-invisible-wealth
Topics Inequality
