Oxfam stated that, despite the claimed windfall, taxes on the wealthy had fallen to “historic lows,” warning of “obscene levels” of inequality, leaving the rest of the world “scraping for crumbs.”
Brazil has prioritized international collaboration on taxing the super-rich during its chairmanship of the G20, a group of countries accounting for 80 percent of global GDP.
At this week’s conference in Rio de Janeiro, finance ministers aim to increase charges on the ultra-wealthy and prevent billionaires from evading taxes.
The endeavor entails determining methods for taxing billionaires and other high-income earners.
The world's richest one percent increased their fortunes by a total of $42 trillion over the past decade, a new report from @Oxfam has revealed ahead of a #G20Brazil summit.https://t.co/bVvInssoVe
— Oxfam News Team (@oxfamgbpress) July 25, 2024
‘Litmus test for G20’
The plan will be severely disputed at the summit on Friday, with France, Spain, South Africa, Colombia, and the African Union in support but the United States strongly opposed.
Oxfam calls on G20 governments to impose an annual net wealth tax of at least 8% on the “extreme wealth” of the super-rich.
“The momentum to increase taxes on the ultra-rich is undeniable,” said Oxfam International’s head of inequality policy, Max Lawson.
“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?”
According to Oxfam, the $42 trillion amount is approximately 36 times the wealth accumulated by the lower half of the world’s population.
The NGO reported that millionaires worldwide pay less than 0.5 percent of their wealth in taxes.
According to Oxfam, G20 countries account for nearly four out of every five billionaires worldwide.