What is capital gains tax and why is it being reviewed?

Tory MPs expected to resist efforts to raise taxes to pay off coronavirus debt

Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak greets an employee during a visit to the Worcester Bosch factory earlier this month
(Image credit: Phil Noble/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak has launched a tax review that could leave Britain’s wealthiest citizens out of pocket as the government scrambles to keep the economy afloat during the coronavirus crisis.

Tory MPs were reportedly caught off guard by the chancellor’s decision to order a wide-ranging examination of the capital gains tax (CGT), which “reaps billions of pounds for the Exchequer each year”, The Guardian says.

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Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs. 

Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.