Tax the rich

Richard | Aug 24, 2026Aug 21, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

• discuss different types of taxes and their impact on society;
• watch a video about a proposed wealth tax on billionaires;
• review vocabulary for discussing tax policy. 

In this lesson, students discuss quotes about taxes and evaluate the pros and cons of taxes such as the sugar tax and tourist tax. They review advanced vocabulary and collocations for discussing tax policy (e.g. compelling case, unintended consequences, vested interests). Students also watch a video about a proposed one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires’ net worth in California, summarizing its pros and cons. Students also debate opposing models for introducing a wealth tax and complete the lesson by taking a stance in a role-play negotiation.

WARM-UP AND VOCABULARY

This lesson starts with a warm-up in which students read quotes about taxes and discuss which they agree with, find funniest or think best reflects attitudes in their own country. Afterwards, they read about two example taxes, the sugar tax and tourist tax, and say whether each exists where they live and whether it should. Moving on, students match phrases in bold (e.g. underlying rationale, compelling case, burden falls on, unintended consequences) with their correct definitions. Then, they choose and explain a tax of their own using this vocabulary. Following that, students discuss which behaviours governments should tax more or less heavily.

VIDEO AND DISCUSSION

In this part of the lesson, students watch a video about a proposal to introduce a one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires’ net worth and summarize its pros and cons. They then watch the video again and make notes on specific points mentioned in the video. Students go on to discuss their own understanding of a wealth tax, whether they think it’s a good idea and whether one exists where they live. Moving on, they choose the correct words to complete sentences from the video, reviewing phrases. Following that, students complete comments about the wealth tax in California using these verb phrases and discuss whether they agree with them. Finally, in pairs, students argue for one of the two tax models and try to reach an agreement or compromise.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This lesson also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students complete sentences about tax policy using vocabulary from the lesson. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it, cut it up and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

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