26th September 2025
Wealth taxes are also a good idea that could be implemented globally.
Gabriel Zucman, a French economist, at the request of the Brazilian G20 presidency, has produced a blue print for such a tax – to be collected by participating nations. “[A] minimum tax on billionaires equal to 2% of their wealth would raise $200-250 billion per year globally from about 3000 taxpayers”. He explains that “The G20 has been a driver of international tax reforms over the past decade. Thanks to the leadership of the G20, more than 130 countries and territories have agreed to a common minimum corporate tax for large multinational companies in 2021. What we have collectively done with multinational corporations, we could in principle now do with billionaires.” (1)
One argument against taxing the rich is that it stifles enterprise. However Oxfam’s report Takers Not Makers, revealed that 60% of billionaire wealth comes from inheritance, cronyism and corruption, or monopoly power. (2) Taxing such wealth would not undermine enterprise. Rather the revenue raised could provide much needed infrastructure for poorer communities enabling them to have more opportunities to become entrepreneurs. The revenue could equally enable poorer nations to adapt to the impact of climate change – a crisis that is being compounded by the growing number of billionaires!
(2) https://oxfam.dk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025-english_davos_full-_report.pdf
The Green Tau 