On Tuesday 25 June, economist Gabriel Zucman presented a report commissioned by the Brazilian Presidency of the G20 containing a blueprint for an internationally coordinated standard guaranteeing effective taxation of the very wealthy (see EUROPE 13417/20).
Individuals whose total wealth, including assets, property, shares, business ownership interests, etc., exceeds $1 billion would be required to pay a minimum amount of tax per year equal to 2% of their wealth. Following the example of the minimum tax on multinational companies adopted in 2021, only billionaires who do not already pay the equivalent of 2% of their wealth in income tax would have to pay this tax. The proposal functions as a complement mechanism.
“The idea is to create a new form of coordination between countries while respecting national sovereignty, so the idea is to set a common standard that allows for flexible domestic implementation and by countries using a variety of domestic instruments”, explained Mr Zucman at a press conference.
This minimum tax on billionaires would raise $200-$250 billion a year worldwide from around 3,000 people. An extension to assets with a net value of more than $100 million would add another $100-$140 billion a year.
The European Citizens’ Initiative in favour of a European Wealth Tax (see EUROPE 13391/15) has so far received more than 222,500 supporters.
To read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/ctw (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)