G20 takes aim at excessive wealth
Last week G20 Finance Ministers met in Rio and agreed a historic Tax Declaration.
For the first time, the world’s richest economies agreed to cooperate to raise taxes on the super-rich, recognising that extreme economic inequality is 'undermining economic growth and social cohesion and aggravating social vulnerabilities'. This is a move with heavyweight political support (see this Open Letter from 19 ex Heads of State) and meets a growing public demand for change.

Taxing excessive wealth in numbers
Raising the tax bar. Globally billionaires pay a tax rate equivalent to just 0.5% of their wealth. This is a far cry from what’s needed. Economist Gabriel Zucman’s proposals, invited by the G20, are based on a global standard to tax the super-rich at the equivalent of at least 2% of their wealth.
Still not enough to reduce inequality. Our analysis finds that to reduce billionaires’ wealth and bring down inequality we’d need to see an annual net wealth tax of at least 8%.
Not just about billionaires. We also need to see far higher taxes on the richest 1%. In the past decade, these individuals have amassed a huge $42 trillion in new wealth. That’s almost 34 times more than the poorest half of humanity gained, and an average of around $400,000 per person.
Next steps. Governments have drawn a line in the sand, will their action rise to the challenge of tackling extreme wealth and obscene inequality?
In November G20 Heads of State will meet in Brazil, and, with the green light from finance ministers, they have the opportunity to take a global deal to tax the super-rich to the next level. And now they have more eyes on them than ever before.
Scope for hope
The UN Tax Convention is moving forward. Alongside this story at the G20, this week governments are in New York negotiating the scope and parameters for a UN Framework Convention on Tax. After a historic win driven by African countries at the UN, all governments now need to agree on where and how the global rules in the future will be fixed. This offers an opportunity for taxation of the super-rich to become a key priority under the leadership of Global South countries.
Something to read and listen to
Hear what people around the world think about extreme wealth and taxing the super-rich
Read these opinion pieces by ex-Finance Minister of Denmark Mogens Lykketoft, and UK journalist and activist George Monbiot on this issue.