Researchers from the Tax Justice Network have concluded that it is necessary to introduce a tax on large fortunes in order to finance the ecological and social transition, according to a study commissioned by the Greens/EFA and published on Wednesday 20 September.
This study comes at a time when more and more people - politicians, billionaires, NGOs... - are calling for an international tax on large fortunes (see EUROPE 13244/21).
They explored the possibility of introducing an EU-wide progressive wealth tax modelled on the solidarity tax adopted in Spain in early 2023. They recommended the following measures: the implementation of a moderate and progressive wealth tax and full transparency of beneficial ownership for all types of companies and assets.
This tax would aim to obtain a reasonable contribution from the 0.5% of the richest people in the European Union, who currently own almost 20% of Europe’s wealth. According to data from the World Inequality Database, in the last decade alone these people have seen their wealth increase by 35%.
This would represent 1.8 million people, or 5% of the EU population. This tax would be between 1.7% and 3.5% of the total capital of these individuals. Collectively, by recovering funds lost through tax abuse and implementing a moderate tax on the wealthiest individuals, EU Member States can generate an additional €272.8 billion per year, or 1.73% of total EU GDP.
Read the study: https://aeur.eu/f/8o7 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)