How close the government came to bringing in a wealth tax

Government officials were working on a wealth tax package until two months before the May 18 budget, before a decision not to proceed.On the table was a package that would have introduced a tax-free threshold for all taxpayers up to their first $10,000 of income and a 1.5% tax on the value of individuals’ assets above a $5 million threshold.The tax-free threshold would have delivered every taxpayer about $20 a week.The wealth tax calculation would have excluded the family home to raise an estimated $3.4 billion in the 2024-25 tax year, ri...