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January 26,2022

Andrew Campbell 

A new study, "Taxing Extreme Wealth: An annual tax on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires: What it would raise and what it could pay for", published on January 19 by the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, and Patriotic Millionaires. An annual wealth tax on the world's millionaires and billionaires might provide enough money to fund enough vaccines for everyone on the planet, as well as fill funding shortages in climate action, universal health and social protection, and initiatives to prevent gender-based violence in over 80 countries.

Despite rising inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic, the new analysis shows a startling increase in global wealth among the world's wealthiest people. This recent gain in global wealth contrasts sharply with the loss of lives and employment caused by the epidemic, which has pushed tens of millions more people into poverty and exacerbated global inequities, particularly in poorer countries.

According to World Bank figures, 3.297 billion people around the world live on less than US$5.50 per day. Thus, raising someone living on less than US$5.50 per day would cost on average US$901 per person each year, with a total cost of US$2.97 trillion dollars for all 3.297 billion people living on less than US$5.50 per day.

A wealth tax of 2% on the world's millionaires, 3% on those worth more than US$50 million, and 5% on the world's billionaires would raise US$2.52 trillion dollars every year. This amount would be sufficient to bring 2.3 billion people out of poverty, provide enough vaccines to safeguard the entire world, and provide universal health care and social protection to all citizens of low- and lower-middle-income countries (3.6 billion people). It is also legitimate to employ wealth taxation to fundamentally reduce the total number of billionaires and multi-millionaires, in addition to raising revenue.