The Tax Justice Network said trillions could be raised with a ‘featherlight’ tax on the 0.5% of richest households, copying a current Spanish tax

The Tax Justice Network said trillions could be raised with a ‘featherlight’ tax on the 0.5% of richest households, copying a current Spanish tax

Governments around the world copying Spain’s wealth tax on the super-rich could raise more than $2tn (£1.5tn), according to campaigners calling for the money to help finance the climate transition.

As a growing numbers of countries consider raising taxes on the ultra-wealthy, the Tax Justice Network campaign group said in a report that evidence from a “featherlight” tax on the 0.5% richest households in Spain could help raise trillions of dollars globally each year.

The Spanish government, under the socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, introduced a temporary “solidarity” wealth tax in late 2022, which is collected in 2023 and 2024, on the net wealth of individuals exceeding €3m (£2.6m). It is estimated to apply to the richest 0.5% of households.

  • Nougat@fedia.io
    1·
    4 months ago

    Tax on hoarded wealth is pressure to make that wealth do something productive.

    To be sure, that wealth is doing something productive. Billionaires aren’t sitting on piles of gold bars or packing their mattresses full of cash. But the “something productive” that wealth is doing is being done for other wealthy people.

    A wealth tax makes it so that a teeny weeny part of the “something productive” is for the public good instead of being for rich fuckers to pass around amongst themselves, empowering them to take advantage of everyone else.