Brazil’s idea to tax the super-rich worldwide is gaining support from members of the Group of Twenty (G20). They want to create new revenue and improve the future for everyone.
Brazil’s Finance Minister, Fernando Haddad, said they aim to get international agreement on taxing wealth this year. They want all G20 countries to agree on a plan at a meeting in July.
France’s Finance Minister, Bruno le Maire, supports Brazil’s proposal. He thinks it’s the next step after recent global tax reforms. He suggests reaching an agreement on taxing the rich by 2027, based on the best practices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, says closing tax loopholes and making the richest people pay their fair share would help raise funds for important things like sustainable growth. The IMF estimates that ending tax avoidance by big companies could bring in $200 billion more each year. They also think a global minimum tax for companies could add $150 billion. Georgieva says setting a minimum price for carbon could raise $1.4 trillion yearly.
The G20 meeting will also discuss how to use the money raised from these new taxes. They want to use it for things like fighting hunger and helping the environment.
Economists like Nobel Prize winners Esther Duflo and Joseph Stiglitz support taxing the rich. Duflo says it’s important because climate change is harming poorer countries, largely because of the consumption habits of richer nations.
Although taxing the super-rich is being discussed for the first time at these meetings, some say the proposed 2% tax is too low. Oxfam suggests a tax of over 8% would be needed to keep billionaires’ wealth from growing too much.
Sure! Here’s the continuation:
Oxfam’s regional tax coordinator, Susana Ruiz Rodriguez, mentioned that it’s the first time the idea of taxing the super-rich has been discussed at the IMF-World Bank meetings. However, she feels that the proposed 2% tax is quite modest. Oxfam suggests that to prevent billionaires’ wealth from increasing too rapidly, an annual wealth tax of more than 8% across all countries would be necessary.
