The reality of wealth inequality in the UK is laid bare in the housing market, with younger generations struggling to buy and others living in homes that are only increasing in value, paying taxes based on an out-of-date valuation.

Rachel Reeves attempted to rebalance this in her Budget – owners of homes worth over £2m will face a new high value council tax surcharge from 2028.

Supporters of this, and other property taxes, argue that housing is an undertaxed store of wealth and that higher rates could fund services and rebalance the market. Critics warn that raising taxes would punish ordinary households, many of whom are asset-rich but cash-poor.

So, should homeowners pay more tax? Our housing correspondent Vicky Spratt, economics columnist Hamish McRae and columnist and former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng give their perspectives.

Let’s start with some numbers. It may come as a surprise, but property taxes in the UK are among the highest in the world.

They raise 10.5 per cent of the Government’s total tax revenue, compared with an average of 5.1 per cent for the other developed countries that are members of the OECD.

The only countries I could find where property taxation is higher were South Korea, where it is 15.1 per cent of the total, the US with 11 per cent, and Israel with 10.9 per cent. For comparison, in Australia it’s 10.1 per........

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