On Monday 30 June, María Jesús Montero and Carlos Cuerpo, the Spanish Ministers of Finance and Economy respectively, and Fernando Haddad, the Brazilian Minister of Finance, announced the launch of a platform for countries committed to improving the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, on the sidelines of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), in Seville.
The proposal is in line with the commitment made by the G20 in Rio de Janeiro, in 2024, to cooperate on effective taxation of high-net-worth individuals (see EUROPE 13527/21). It aims to identify the concentration of wealth in different countries, compile data on effective tax rates and commission comparable research across countries, including the fight against inequality and the implementation of progressive taxation.
“The objective (...) is to contribute to the wealth redistribution that will address the growing problem of inequality. To achieve this, it is necessary to foster a multilateral debate on more effective taxation of large estates that guarantees social cohesion in each country”, said the ministers in their statement. “This initiative aims to deepen one of the commitments contained in the Seville Consensus, ratified by 192 countries”.
The NGO Oxfam and Gabriel Zucman, economist and Director of the EU Tax Observatory, have welcomed this initiative. “The old rules of globalisation have failed, but today marks the beginning of a new chapter: an alliance between countries of the Global South and Global North to ensure the super-rich pay their fair share”, he commented.
Read the ministerial statement: https://aeur.eu/f/hnf (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)