Why just billionaires?

We are putting billionaires under the spotlight as an example of our broken economic system and the need for decision-makers at all levels – national, regional and global – to impose an effective wealth tax on the super rich.

Aren’t these billionaires investing heavily in climate solutions?

The minimal investments in renewable energy that the mega rich are making are doing more harm than good in that it distracts from their outsized impact on the climate. An example: INEOS, which is owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, talks a lot about their sustainability efforts, while producing 22.8 million tonnes of petrochemicals in 2020 (more than in 2019) and also lobbying the UK Government to exempt them from climate taxes. That’s not even the tip of the iceberg of their climate impacts – you can read more here.

How could it actually work?

Every country has its own tax system so it is vital for wealthy governments like France, Germany and the UK to quickly impose national level wealth taxes on the assets of the super-rich. They need to do this using existing frameworks (eg. capital gains tax in the UK) and implementing new measures that ensure billionaires pay what they owe. 

At the same time countries must come together to deliver international rules – at the G20 and EU levels – to close loopholes the super-rich use to avoid paying national level taxes. We are already seeing real momentum behind the proposal of a global wealth tax on billionaires at the G20 – history shows us that something like this can be achieved, with the international agreement on corporation tax.

Won’t all the rich people just leave the country?

Research shows that the majority of extremely wealthy people in European countries like the UK would be unlikely to leave the country due to a wealth tax. This is partly due to the reputational risk as tax migrants are viewed as “unduly economically self-interested” and wanting to stay in the country for non-financial reasons such as culture, education and healthcare.

Won’t billionaires just find loopholes to avoid tax?

The fact that this question is so often asked shows exactly what billionaires are known for: tax evasion. But just because the mega rich continuously try to avoid paying their taxes is not a good enough reason to not try to force them to pay up. It also shows that the system needs fixing: we need to close the loopholes that let billionaires get away without paying what they owe.