The United States led the opposition to a minimum tax on the world’s 3,000 wealthiest individuals at a meeting in Brazil.
Finance ministers from the world’s 20 leading economies have failed to reach an agreement on a global tax on billionaires, but they have pledged to implement progressive taxes on the ultra-wealthy, Politico reported on Friday.
At a meeting in Rio de Janeiro, the ministers stated that they would initiate a “dialogue on fair and progressive taxation, including of ultra-high-net-worth individuals,” according to the text of a joint communique viewed by Politico.
The communique is scheduled to be published later on Friday, and it will not include a statement of support for a 2% levy on the world’s 3,000 wealthiest billionaires, as Brazil, the current holder of the G20’s rotating presidency, had hoped.
French economist Gabriel Zucman, a consultant to the G20 on taxation issues, asserts that the levy would generate approximately $250 billion globally each year.
“Some individuals control more resources than entire countries,” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva remarked at a press conference on Wednesday. A tax on billionaires could contribute to funding the fight against global hunger, added Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, before cautioning that such a tax regime “will not be established overnight, because it is a very delicate mechanism.”
During discussions on Thursday, it became clear that some G20 governments would not endorse such a measure.
“We don’t see a need or really think it’s desirable to try to negotiate a global agreement on [a billionaire tax],” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated at a press conference. “We think that all countries should make sure that their taxation systems are fair and progressive.”
Germany joined the US in opposing the levy, while France, Spain, South Africa, Colombia, and the African Union expressed support for the Brazilian proposal.