Wealth and poverty, “It’s time for a European tax on large assets”: the flash mobs in front of the European Parliament of civil society

ROMA – Faced with the expansion of social fragility in many countries of the European Union and the approach of a dangerous “climate tipping point”, EU governments are struggling to introduce forms of more significant levies on the wealthiest citizens to find crucial resources to allocate to growing social needs and to combat the climate crisis. This is what was reported today by Oxfamwith a flash mob created with Avaaz e WeMove before the European Parliament, in support of the request to introduce a European tax on large estates. Up to 16 billion for Italy, taxing the 50 thousand richest

The resources that would be generated. If applied, in the Italian context, to the 0.1% of the richest citizens (around 50,000 individuals), with net assets exceeding 5.4 million euros, a similar tax could generate revenues between 13.2 and 15.7 billion per year. The measure would not affect 99.9% of Italian taxpayers, but only that group at the top of the social pyramid, which saw its share of national wealth go from 5.5% to 9.2% between 1995 and 2021. “The inaction of governments clashes with the public support, across the electorate, enjoyed by proposals for higher taxation on the richest – declares Misha Maslennikov, political consultant on tax justice at Oxfam Italy – the reticence of politicians clashes with the position of many citizens tired of being told that ‘there are no resources’ to reduce waiting lists in public health facilities, to stabilize temporary staff in the schools their children attend, for housing university or for support measures for those in vulnerable conditions”.

What a recent survey says. In fact, a recent EU survey shows that almost 7 out of 10 Europeans are in favor of greater taxation of the wealthiest. In Italy, around 2/3 of respondents to a 2021 opinion survey supported the proposal for a tax on large fortunes.

Fiscal equity needs to be strengthened: in Italy the richest pay, in proportion to their income, lower taxes and contributions than citizens with more modest incomes

Equity would be strengthened. The tax on large estates would also have the merit of strengthening the fairness of tax systems, counteracting their regressivity at the top. Suffice it to say that in Italy the majority of citizens pay between 40 and 50% of their income in direct and indirect taxes and contributions, while billionaires only pay around 20%. Similarly, in France an average taxpayer faces an overall tax rate of around 50% of his income, while a person in the top-0.0002% faces just 2%.

In Europe the rich are also among the biggest polluters

In Europe the rich are also polluters. It should be highlighted that in Europe the richest are also among the biggest polluters: an EU citizen placed in the top-1% richest emits on average 14 times more CO2 than someone belonging to the poorest 50% of the continent. A tax on large estates would therefore also be seen as a “contribution to pay” for their greater responsibility (in terms of cumulative historical emissions) for the ongoing climate crisis and would contribute to supporting mitigation and adaptation to climate change and to support a just ecological transition.

Countryside #TheGreatRichezza. Oxfam launched the signature collection in Italy #TheGreatRichezza in support of the European Citizens’ Initiative #TaxTheRich for the introduction of a European tax on large estates. that’s how you can join are https://www.oxfamitalia.org/lagrandericchezza/

The Oxfam Campaign. In his recent report “Climate Equality” Oxfam found that the richest 1%, in terms of income, in the EU was responsible for 6% of CO2 emissions at continental level in 2019 and that the share of emissions per capita of a person belonging to the 1% of income earners highest incomes in the Union were 14 times higher than the per capita emissions for which, on average, an individual in the bottom 50% of the income distribution was responsible.

The distribution of tax burdens. Estimates on the distribution of tax burdens for different income groups in France were developed by theEuropean Tax Observatory. Similar estimates for Italy have been deduced from the recent empirical work of researchers from the Sant’Anna School of Pisa and the University of Milan Bicocca.