Oxfam reported on Thursday that the world’s richest one percent have increased their wealth by a staggering $42 trillion over the past decade. This announcement comes just before the G20 summit in Brazil, where the primary agenda item is taxing the super-rich.
Despite their growing fortunes, taxes on the wealthy have reached "historic lows," according to Oxfam, leading to "obscene levels" of inequality. The rest of the world, Oxfam warned, is left to "scrap for crumbs."
Brazil, currently presiding over the G20—a group representing 80 percent of the world’s GDP—has prioritized international cooperation on taxing the super-rich. The upcoming summit in Rio de Janeiro will see finance ministers from the G20 countries discussing ways to impose higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy and prevent billionaires from dodging tax systems.
The initiative includes developing methods to tax billionaires and other high-income earners effectively. This proposal is expected to be hotly debated at the summit on Thursday and Friday. Countries such as France, Spain, South Africa, Colombia, and the African Union are in favor of the proposal, while the United States stands firmly against it.
Oxfam described the upcoming discussions as a "real litmus test for G20 governments," urging them to implement an annual net wealth tax of at least eight percent on the "extreme wealth" of the super-rich. Max Lawson, Oxfam International’s head of inequality policy, emphasized, "Momentum to increase taxes on the super-rich is undeniable. 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?".
Oxfam highlighted that the $42 trillion amassed by the richest one percent is nearly 36 times more than the wealth accumulated by the poorer half of the world's population. Despite this enormous wealth, billionaires are paying an effective tax rate of less than 0.5 percent of their wealth globally, the NGO noted.
Oxfam also pointed out that nearly four out of five of the world’s billionaires reside in G20 nations, further emphasizing the importance of coordinated action by these countries to address global wealth inequality. The decisions made at the summit could significantly impact the global economic landscape, determining whether the needs of the many are prioritized over the wealth of the few.
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