Rich List 2021: results will renew debate on wealth tax in Britain

Analysis: times are changing as IMF says wealth taxes must rise to pay for pandemic costs and Joe Biden says trickle-down economics don't work

The 2021 Sunday Times Rich List will renew debate over how to prevent Britain's position as one of the most unequal societies in the developed world from getting worse.

Those who argue for a wealth tax would usually face a withering response from the major international bodies that analyse the effects of taxation on economic growth. In previous decades a neoliberal consensus demanded wealth creators be given free rein, while everyone should accept that the extraordinary lifestyles of the super-rich was the price of innovation and decently paid jobs for the rest. In the 1990s the Clinton and Blair administrations felt unable to confront the proselytisers for trickle-down economics.

Related: Number of billionaires in UK reached new record during Covid crisis