Downing Street has refused to rule out imposing a wealth tax as a way to fill the gaping black hole in the public finances.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under pressure from unions and Labour MPs to introduce a levy on the rich after the £5billion welfare retreat.
But despite concern such a tax could lead to yet more wealthy people fleeing Britain, No 10 declined to rule it out yesterday.
A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer said the Government would stick to its principle that ‘those with the broadest shoulders should carry the greatest burden’.
He said: ‘The choices we’ve made reflect that, including closing loopholes in the non-dom tax regime, increasing air passenger duty on private jets and preventing tax rises for working people at the autumn budget.
‘Our progressive tax system means the top 1 per cent of taxpayers contribute nearly a third of income tax, with revenue from wealth and asset taxes, such as capital gains tax, inheritance tax, going towards funding tens of billions of pounds for public services.
‘And you saw the decisions taken at the autumn Budget, demonstrating our commitment to our fiscal rules while maintaining high levels of investment, to rebuild our public services.’
The spokesman also said past Budget decisions had ensured the rich contribute more and added that Ms Reeves recently said she was ‘not interested in a wealth tax’.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under pressure from unions and Labour MPs to introduce a levy on the rich after the £5billion welfare retreat

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer said the Government would stick to its principle that ‘those with the broadest shoulders should carry the greatest burden’
But the Tories warned that leaving the door open to such a raid on the wealthy would drive investment away from Britain.
Tory MP Neil O’Brien told ministers: ‘If you tell business people and wealth creators that if they leave their money in this country it is going to get taxed, then you drive even more investors away.’
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, who was answering an urgent question in the Commons, also declined to rule out the introduction of a wealth tax.
Instead, he replied: ‘The Chancellor will set out any decisions on tax one way or the other at the budget, which she will do in the autumn.’
Meanwhile Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride warned that ‘under Labour, nothing is safe’ as he urged Ms Reeves to ‘come clean’ on any plans for a wealth tax.
He told the Mail: ‘Labour’s attack on business and wealth creation has already seen scores of wealthy taxpayers leave the UK. Now they appear to be gearing up for fresh tax raids to pay for their costly U-turns.’
Ms Reeves came under fresh pressure to introduce a wealth tax over the weekend, when former Labour leader Lord Kinnock suggested the party was ‘willing to explore’ the idea. He said a 2 per cent tax on assets worth more than £10million could raise about £10billion a year.
The idea was backed by Labour MP Diane Abbott, who said: ‘Kinnock is right. We should have a wealth tax.’
Labour’s biggest union paymasters also supported it, including Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, who said it would be ‘a much fairer way of raising revenue to invest in public services and grow the economy’.
Any move to introduce a wealth tax will be seen as an attack on investors. Ms Reeves is seeking to soften her inheritance tax changes for non-doms over fears of an exodus of wealthy people.
Recent figures showed that more than 10,000 millionaires left Britain last year, a 157 per cent increase on the previous year.