Super-rich 'should pay more tax'

The "super-rich" should pay more tax in an effort to reduce child poverty and fight crime, says the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Brendan Barber said "loopholes" for UK citizens who spent time abroad meant tax breaks worth £4bn a year, putting a greater burden on lower earners.

These had to be closed, he added, with the money raised spent on reducing child poverty - a key cause of crime.

But Mr Barber denied his campaign was guided by the "politics of envy".

'Heavy price'

Speaking ahead of the TUC annual congress, which starts in Brighton on Monday, he said: "Today a significant group of super-rich float free from the rest of society, and think that tax is for the little people.

"Today the rest of society pays a heavy price for the wealth gap - whether middle, low or no income."