Top 1% Adds $42 Tn In Wealth As Taxes On Rich Plummet: Oxfam
Oxfam has proposed that an annual net wealth tax of atleast eight per cent would be needed to reduce billionaires’ extreme wealth
The richest one per cent of the world have amassed USD 42 trillion in new wealth over the past decade, according to an analysis by Oxfam. On the other hand, the taxes on the top one per cent have fallen to historic lows, leading to obscene levels of inequality with the rest of the world left to scrap for crumbs, Oxfam stated ahead of the third meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank governors to be held in Brazil.
Brazil has made international cooperation on taxing the super-rich a priority of its presidency of the G20. At the summit, to be held this week, the group is expected to focus on determining ways to impose higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy.
The analysis by Oxfam states that the new fortunes amassed by the top one per cent is nearly 34 times more than the entire bottom 50 per cent of the world’s population. The average wealth per person in the top one per cent rose by nearly USD 4,00,000 in real terms over the last decade compared to USD 335 for a person in the bottom half.
The NGO noted that the billionaires have been paying taxes equivalent to less than 0.5 per cent of their wealth. As their fortunes have risen by an annual average of 7.1 per cent over the last four decades, an annual net wealth tax of atleast eight per cent would be needed to reduce billionaires’ extreme wealth, as per the analysis.
“Inequality has reached obscene levels, and until now governments have failed to protect people and the planet from its catastrophic effects. The richest one per cent of humanity continues to fill their pockets while the rest are left to scrap for crumbs,” said Oxfam International’s Head of Inequality Policy, Max Lawson.
Terming the G20 summit as the real litmus test for the G20 governments, Oxfam has urged them to implement an annual net wealth tax of eight per cent on the ultra-wealthy. G20 countries are home to nearly 80 per cent of the world’s billionaires. Oxfam has noted that the share of income of the top one per cent of earners in G20 countries has risen by 45 per cent over four decades, while top tax rates on their incomes were by a third.
According to Oxfam, for every one USD raised in tax in G20 countries, less than 8 cents comes from taxes on wealth. “The momentum to increase taxes on the super-rich is undeniable, and this week is the first real litmus test for G20 governments. Do they have the political will to strike a global standard that puts the needs of the many before the greed of an elite few?” Lawson added.
