Oxfam pushes governments to implement ‘solidarity tax’ on ultra-rich

Nonprofit human rights organization Oxfam released a proposal recommending governments implement a one-off “solidarity tax” on the ultra-wealthy in order to support people who are facing rising food and energy costs.

“An annual wealth tax on millionaires starting at just 2 percent, and 5 percent on billionaires, could generate $2.52 trillion a year — enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, make enough vaccines for the world, and deliver universal healthcare and social protection for everyone living in low—and lower middle — income countries,” the organization said, based on findings from its research.

The group suggested that countries introduce a “temporary excess profit tax of 90 percent to capture the windfall profits of big corporations across all industries” as well as “introduce permanent wealth taxes to rein in extreme wealth and monopoly power, as well as the outsized carbon emissions of the super-rich.”

According to Oxfam, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new billionaire was created every 30 hours. In addition, about 1 million people could be forced into extreme poverty at the same rate in 2022.

The organization also found in its research that corporations in the energy, food and pharmaceutical industries are currently seeing record high profits, while workers’ wages have largely remained stagnant and people are struggling with soaring inflation.

The organization stated that the fortunes of food and energy billionaires have risen by $453 billion in the last two years amid the pandemic.

“The extremely rich and powerful are profiting from pain and suffering. This is unconscionable. Some have grown rich by denying billions of people access to vaccines, others by exploiting rising food and energy prices,” Gabriela Bucher, the executive director of Oxfam International, explained.

Bucher added in the Oxfam report, “They are paying out massive bonuses and dividends while paying as little tax as possible. This rising wealth and rising poverty are two sides of the same coin, proof that our economic system is functioning exactly how the rich and powerful designed it to do.”