The EU Commission admits taxing wealth is gaining ground

The European Commission admits that wealth taxation is gaining "traction globally" as a tool to "ensure a fairer sharing of the tax burden across individuals". This is according to the Commission's new Annual Report on Taxation, which mentions the recent G20 discussions around taxing the super-rich and the European Citizens Initiative for a wealth tax.

The report also offers several examples of how much EU governments could raise through wealth taxation, including Oxfam's 2023 estimations that an annual net wealth tax of up to 5 percent on Europe's richest individuals could raise over 250 billion euros annually.

In response, Chiara Putaturo, Oxfam EU's tax expert, said:

"After decades of tax cuts for the rich, decision-makers are bowing to the evidence: it is time the super-rich start paying what they owe. Now, also the EU Commission admits this can be a solution to end the extreme inequality tearing our societies apart.

"The new Commission must now go from words to action and start taxing the super-rich if they want a Europe that works for everyone."