Wealth Of Top 1 Per Cent Soars By $40 Trillion In 10 Years Amid Historically Low Tax Rates: Oxfam

According to Oxfam, billionaires have been paying a tax rate equivalent to less than 0.5 per cent of their wealth globally.

Nearly four out of five of the world's billionaires reside in G20 nations, as per Oxfam report.

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Oxfam in its report has revealed that the world's richest one per cent have increased their fortunes by a staggering $42 trillion over the past decade. Despite this significant wealth accumulation, taxes on the ultra-rich have fallen to ‘historic lows’, the organisation reported, warning of ‘obscene levels’ of inequality as the rest of the world ‘scraps for crumbs’.

The $42 trillion amassed by the wealthiest one per cent is nearly 36 times more than the combined wealth of the poorer half of the world's population. According to Oxfam, billionaires have been paying a tax rate equivalent to less than 0.5 per cent of their wealth globally. Additionally, nearly four out of five of the world's billionaires reside in G20 nations.

These remarks come ahead of the G20 summit in Brazil, where international cooperation on taxing the super-rich has been prioritised by the presidency. At this week's summit in Rio de Janeiro, G20 finance ministers will focus on implementing levies on the ultra-wealthy and developing methods to prevent tax evasion by billionaires.

The initiative includes establishing methodologies for taxing billionaires and other high-income earners, according to AFP. The proposal has garnered support from France, Spain, South Africa, Colombia, and the African Union, although the United States remains firmly opposed.

Oxfam has described the summit as a “real litmus test for G20 governments,” urging them to implement an annual net wealth tax of at least eight percent on the "extreme wealth" of the super-rich. Max Lawson, Oxfam International's head of inequality policy, emphasized the growing momentum to increase taxes on the super-rich, questioning whether governments have the political will to establish a global standard that prioritizes the needs of the many over the greed of an elite few.