HIGHER taxes for the wealthy have gained clear cross-party support with more than half of Conservative voters now backing the move, a new TUC poll has revealed.

More than six in 10 of the public overall said the rich should pay more tax – with three in four also calling for capital gains to be taxed the same or higher than income tax, the research found.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said that “now is the time” to kick-start a national conversation about taxing wealth after the poll also revealed huge support for windfall taxes on excess profits.

He said: “It’s time to end the grotesque inequality of the Tory era.

“As households across the country have struggled to put food on the table, energy companies and banks have registered eyewatering profits, and CEO pay has skyrocketed.

“The wealthiest have feathered their nests while working people have suffered the worst pay crisis in two centuries.”

Banks and energy giants earlier this year announced record profits despite rampant inflation and the devastating cost-of-living crisis. 

The survey conducted by Opinium found three-quarters of Britons support a windfall tax on banks’ excess profits, and four in five back one on energy companies’ profits.

The figures rose to 76 per cent and 81 per cent respectively for 2019 Conservative voters.

Seven in 10 also backed a windfall tax on large online retailers’ excess profits, such as Amazon.

Speaking ahead of the TUC’s annual conference in Liverpool next week, Mr Nowak said: “Rampant inequalities are the direct result of a broken Tory economic model that rewards wealth, not work.

“We need a reset – and an economy that delivers better living standards for all – not just those at the top.

“With living standards plummeting, public services on their knees, and huge wealth inequalities blighting every corner of the country, fairer taxes can help to fix broken Britain.

“But our current tax system isn’t fit for purpose. A nurse will pay a bigger share of their income in tax than a city trader does on profits from their investment portfolio. 

“That’s not only absurd and unfair – it’s bad for our economy and our public services too,” he said.

“The public overwhelmingly back increased taxes on the wealthiest and companies that have made massive profits.

“It’s only right that the wealthiest pay their fair share.”

Labour has been urged to engage with the TUC on wealth taxes after shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves ruled out the policy should the party win the next general election.

Ms Reeves has said extra money for public services would have to come from economic growth, saying Labour would not target expensive houses, increase capital gains tax or put up the top rate of income tax.

Yesterday Paul Nowak told the Morning Star: “I think Labour have set out important plans for example to close the non-dom loopholes to raise VAT on private school fees to level the playing field of the online giants and high street retailers.

“But I’m ambitious for working people so I want Labour to engage with that national conversation with us about how can we tax wealth in this country.

“The reality is the wealth of the top 1 per cent of this country has grown 31 times faster than the wealth of everyone else in the last decade. And there will be families that are struggling to make ends meet at the same time Porsche have had the best ever year for sales in the UK. The best two years in the City for bonuses since the financial crash.”