"Efforts to Establish a Fair Global System"
Specific Agreement Not Reached
Finance ministers of the Group of Twenty (G20) have agreed to cooperate in establishing a global wealth tax system targeting the ultra-wealthy, so-called 'super rich.'
According to reports from AP, AFP, and Brazilian media outlet G1 on the 26th (local time), Fernando Haddad, Brazil's Finance Minister, spoke to local reporters about the discussions at the two-day G20 finance ministers' meeting held in Rio de Janeiro starting the previous day. He stated, "Participants agreed to work towards creating a more transparent, fair, and equitable global tax system, including for the ultra-wealthy."
Haddad said this would be included in a ministerial declaration and described it as "an important progress."
However, AP reported that the G20 finance ministers did not reach a concrete agreement on this matter.
The global wealth tax is a taxation policy designed to counteract high-net-worth individuals using tax havens to reduce their tax liabilities. It is supported by countries including Brazil, the G20 chair this year, France, Spain, Colombia, and South Africa.
Supporting countries propose collecting at least 2% annually from the assets of the world's billionaires as a wealth tax, similar to the 2021 agreement by about 140 countries to apply a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% on multinational corporations.
Earlier last month, the British daily The Guardian reported that Gabriel Zucman, a French economist at the Paris School of Economics, released a report stating that "it is technically feasible to introduce an international minimum tax on the world's top 3,000 billionaires, which could generate up to $250 billion (approximately 347.7 trillion KRW) in additional annual tax revenue."
In response, the United States has expressed opposition, citing the difficulties in coordinating tax policies.
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