The Guardian view on Britain's wealth divide: a gap becomes a chasm
《卫报》评英国贫富分化：差距变成鸿沟
《卫报》
Looking at a range of indicators, researchers from the Resolution Foundation thinktank did the maths on how 16 months of lockdown had affected households' wealth.The stark conclusion was that the pandemic had "turbo-charged" the already yawning gap between the rich and the poor.
决议基金会智库的研究人员通过观察一系列指标，计算出16个月的封锁是如何影响家庭财富的。残酷的结论是：疫情迅速加剧了本已巨大的贫富差距。
决议基金会
In one sense this should come as no surprise.For decades, the unspoken rule of British politics has been that the asset-rich shall become richer.Adjusted for inflation, the value of household wealth has doubled since 1980, but revenue from taxes on wealth has remained more or less stagnant.
某种意义上，这本该不足为奇。几十年来，英国政治不必言明的规则就一直是：资产富裕者会变得越来越富。为了调控通货膨胀，自1980年以来，家庭财富价值已经翻了一番，但对富人征税的收入却或多或少陷入停滞。
Reforms to capital gains tax were contemplated in the spring by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and then speedily returned to the back burner.Tax reliefs on savings and investments have gone untouched.
今年春天，财政大臣Rishi Sunak慎重考虑过资本利得税改革的问题，但很快就搁置一旁了。对储蓄和投资的税收减免也并未改变。
Rishi Sunak
Polls have suggested robust public support for higher taxes on wealth.This is based on a justified sense that the gap between the rich and the poor has become too large and that the rich have become richer in recent years.
民意调查显示：公众强烈支持对财富征税。这基于一种合理认知，即贫富差距已经变得过大，而且近些年来富人变得越来越富。
There is also a broad consensus that the times demand a greater level of government spending for the common good.When it comes to addressing the real terms decline in nurses' pay, dealing with the huge crisis in educational attainment, or addressing growing child poverty, the government routinely points to budget constraints.
还有一个广泛共识，即时代的发展需要政府为公共利益投入更多资金。当涉及到解决护士薪酬下降、处理严重的学历危机，或解决日益增长的儿童贫困等实际问题时，政府一贯以预算有限为理由。
贫困儿童
After 40 years of gains at the top, the case for reforming Britain's wealth-related taxes was strong before the pandemic.Given the huge challenges that an even more unequal post-pandemic Britain will face, it is now surely unarguable.
疫情前，富人的收入经历了40年的增长，改革英国财富相关税收的理由早已充分。鉴于后疫情时代更不平等的英国将要面临的巨大挑战，税收改革的必要性在当前是毋庸置疑的。
（文章来源：《卫报》 翻译：敏锐饺子Emrys）
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