Andy Burnham could not have been clearer.
“There are people here in Greater Manchester who pay a much higher council tax than people living in much larger homes in London,” the new Prime Minister told the BBC’s Panorama 'Andy Burnham: the Laura Kuenssberg Interview’.
Speaking from his new No10 North headquarters in Manchester, he continued: “So the Chancellor before, Rachel Reeves, was right to start to reform council tax to create some fairness there in relation to people in homes that are of much greater value, who haven't seen their council tax go up over the years because of the failure to revalue the banding.”
Given the exorbitant property prices in London, and rent levels, there are also many people living in the capital in far smaller properties than in Manchester, including some paying higher council tax.
But that is by the by.
Ms Reeves introduced the “mansion tax” on homes worth £2 million and more, the vast majority of which are in London, or the wider South East.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government also slashed central government funding for some boroughs with low council tax, such as Westminster, forcing them to impose huge hikes.
Property tax
Mr Burnham’s description of Ms Reeves’ actions as a “start” appears to be clear indicator that he is planning further changes to property tax to raise more money, largely from London and the wider South East, as he seeks to plough billions more of public funding into England’s regions.
The former Mayor of Greater Manchester has previously backed a new property tax, which would replace council tax and stamp duty.
It would land London with an estimated additional bill of £7.5 billion.
The proportional property tax would be charged at 0.48% of the value of a property, rising to 0.96% for second homes, empty homes and those owned by foreign nationals.
Mr Burnham has played down the likelihood of his Government embarking on such a major tax reform, which would require a revaluation of all properties, imminently.
"It's just not the case that we are bringing forward plans, on that scale, at this moment in time,” he said.
But this stopped far short of ruling out significant changes to property tax in the autumn Budget or later years.
Options available include reducing the threshold for paying the “mansion tax” to possibly £1.5 million or introducing new council tax bands on expensive properties.
Inheritance tax
To his credit, Andy Burnham is prepared to gamble in taking some big decisions which most other Prime Ministers have shied away from doing including on tackling Britain’s social care crisis.
He is seeking cross-party talks to find a solution to the gaping shortcomings in adult social care provision across the country.
He has previously pledged to expend “whatever political capital I have” on fixing England’s social care system, warning the NHS “will collapse” otherwise.
Amid reports that he is considering a 10% tax on all inheritances to pay for this, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden noticeably declined to rule this out.
Downing Street later said there were “no plans” for such a move.
Inheritance tax is currently charged at 40% on estates worth more than £325,000, or £500,000 if it includes passing on a home to children.
Given the high property values in the capital and huge wealth, around £1 in £4 in inheritance tax is already paid by Londoners, and add in the wider South East that figure rises to £2 in £4.
A 10% charge on all inheritances would somewhat equalise the proportion of the tax paid by London, compared to other regions, but it would still be by far the biggest contributor to the Treasury under such a system.
An alternative funding model, reportedly part of a series of options drawn up by civil servants at the Department for Health and Social Care, would be workers paying into a privately-managed fund to pay for their care in old age.
It would be set at 1.8 per cent of earnings above £6,240, according to The Telegraph, paid by people over the age of 34.
The funds built up would be invested to use for social care for workers later in life when their cohort reaches old age.
In addition to the general fund, it would be supplemented by wealthier elderly people paying for between 10 and 45% of their own social care costs, depending on their assets, in a policy which would particularly affect London and the South East given the number of well-off pensioners.
Banks levy
Barclays has revealed its profits jumped by 17% over the first half of 2026 as its investment bank cashed in on more dealmaking and activity in the financial markets.
It reported a pre-tax profit of £6.1 billion for the first six months of the year, up from £5.2 billion in the same period a year ago.
As the banks rake it in as millions of people are still struggling with the cost of living it is not surprising that calls are growing, including from union chiefs, for them to pay more tax.
The Trades Union Congress is urging Mr Burnham to increase the bank surcharge by between £9 billion and £60 billion over four years.
Income tax
The new PM has stressed that he faces some difficult decisions on tax as he seeks billions more pounds to pay for defence, his plans to level up Britain and for social care.
Overall, he has given little details of his tax proposals, which would be expected to be laid out in the Budget.
He has floated the idea that the £12,570 threshold at which people start paying income tax may be raised to help the less well off.
But he has also said he may be "asking for a little bit more" on tax, with the better off clearly in his mind.
Mr Burnham has vowed to stick to Labour’s 2024 election manifesto not to raise the rates of income tax, VAT or National Insurance contributions for employees.
But could he be tempted to bring back the 50p top rate of tax?
Wealth tax
The new Prime Minister could decide to introduce a wealth tax, though, this might be complicated to collect and ensure people did not avoid paying it.
Some campaigners and charities have been calling for a 2% tax on assets over £10 million.
Zack Polanski’s Green Party supports a 1% annual levy on assets above £10 million and of 2% on assets over £1 billion.
It also backs reforms to capital gains tax (CGT) to align the rates with those paid by taxpayers on income.
As Mr Burnham seeks more funding, whether this is through a new property tax, wealth tax, changes to CGT or another levy is yet to become clear.
But what is almost certain is that London will bear the brunt of any tax rises.
