Other countries do similar

Taxing the richest 350 families in the UK by 2% could generate £22 billion, according to campaigners.

Analysis by Tax Justice UK, the Economic Change Unit and the New Economics Foundation (NEF) said similar wealth taxes in Norway, Spain and Switzerland had helped the cost of living crisis for some of the poorest people in those countries.

Lukasz Krebel, economist at NEF thinktank, said: “This year’s rich list shows that at a time when so many of us are struggling with the cost of living, the very wealthiest in society continue to thrive.

“Yet this elite group aren’t taxed as much as those of us who earn our living, leaving us with less money to invest in hospitals, schools and parks. We can share the wealth that we all create by increasing taxes on the very rich.

"By doing this, we can repair our public services, power our future with locally made energy from the wind and sun, and create jobs and thriving neighbourhoods for all of our families.”

The richest 250 families in the UK are sitting on combined wealth of £748bn, according to the annual Sunday Times rich list published last week, an increase from £704bn the previous year.

Robert Palmer, executive director of Tax Justice UK, said: “The growing wealth of those on the rich list highlights the inequality in our tax system, where those who are already wealthy from investments, rent and inheritances are taxed relatively lightly compared to those who get their income from work.

"It can’t be right that many working people are paying a higher effective tax rate than some of the very wealthiest in our society, especially when we are seeing falling living standards and increasing bills for the majority.

“The government must urgently bring forward reforms to fix our broken tax system, bringing in higher taxes on wealth, so that those who earn the most, and own the most, pay their proper share.”