Make Them Pay demand tax on billionaires

September 27, 2025 by Extinction Rebellion

On the 20^th September, thousands joined a coalition of groups with Make Them Pay, demonstrating through Central London to demand that the government make billionaires pay to clean up the mess they’ve made of our planet.

Photos from the action here.

The richest 1% – who in the UK have more wealth than the poorest 70% combined – are disproportionately responsible for climate breakdown, emitting double the carbon of the poorest 50%, while the wealth gap between the richest and poorest is continuing to grow [1,2,3].

While schools and the NHS are on their knees, our energy bills continue to rise, and our climate is wrecked by pollution, polluting oil and gas giants continue to make billions. And CEOs? Richer than ever. Last year, UK billionaires increased their wealth by £35 million a day while ordinary families struggled to choose between heating and eating [4].

Make Them Pay is an alliance building unity across the climate, workers’, and social justice movements. Make Them Pay represents millions of workers, citizens and communities across Britain, with three key demands: tax the super-rich, protect the workers rather than the billionaires, and make polluters pay.

Taxing the super-rich would allow the government to funnel billions into public services, funding the NHS and environmental protection, as well as incentivising a shift in investment towards green technologies and social justice initiatives. Currently, UK billionaires pay an effective tax rate of 0.3% [5]. If the government introduced just a 2% tax on assets worth over £10 million (affecting only 0.1% of the UK’s population), it would generate up to £24 billion a year [6].

Ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Autumn budget, Make Them Pay came together to pressure the government to tax the vast wealth of the super-rich and to rebuild society for the people who keep it running, not the rich and powerful. Protestors marched to demand a just transition away from fossil fuels, where both climate and the workers are protected.

Speakers at the demonstration included the newly-elected leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski; Faiza Shaheen, economist and Executive Director of Tax Justice UK; Brian Eno, a musician and visual artist; and Dominique Palmer, climate justice activist, global speaker and storyteller; and Asad Rehman, Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth.

One protestor said, “It’s about time the economy worked for the people who keep the country running, not polluting corporations and billionaires. The Climate Crisis is an International Working Class Issue.”

Half of the world’s CO2 emissions come from the biggest fossil fuel companies [7], and the people at the top are lining their bank accounts with billions while destroying our planet and jeopardising our futures. 40% of billionaire investments are in highly polluting industries: oil, mining, shipping, and cement.

Make Them Pay is demanding action that can tackle the climate crisis and social injustice, rebuilding society for the people who keep it running, not the rich and powerful.