Brazil wants world leaders to work together on fair taxes for the super-rich. With inequality skyrocketing and the escalating climate crisis, Britain should seize its chance to support that, says Claire Arthur-Lusby.
Brazil’s rallying call for nations to work together to tax extreme wealth has been a defining feature of its presidency of the G20. As the UK’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer joins other world leaders at the final summit of that presidency next week, will he grasp this historic opportunity for a big step towards economic and climate justice?
A small tax on the billions pooling in the pockets of the richest 1% could help people and planet pull through the crises shaping the 21st century. But the UK has been quiet – coy, perhaps – on this crucial agenda. Finance ministers, Britain’s Chancellor Rachel Reeves among them, issued a crucial communiqué in July agreeing the need to work together on taxing the super-rich. Leaders must now ratify that intent and translate it to action.
Here are five reasons the UK must play a stronger role.
1. A nation with black holes needs new ideas
With a gaping hole between political intent and funded capacity to deliver on crucial issues of social progress in the UK, taxes on extreme wealth can ensure the very richest pay their fair share towards a better economy and society. That new source of potential revenue alone should compel the UK to engage.
2. A historical polluter must pay for climate damage and solutions
With climate change and its devastating impacts accelerating, never has the world more urgently needed to invest in solutions, protections and redress for those communities hit hardest by the climate crisis. The bill for a just transition, appropriate loss and damage payments, adaptation and technology will add up, as nations are discussing now at COP29 (11-22 Nov) in Azerbaijan.
There is broad consensus that revenue from a tax on extreme wealth should be invested for people and planet. As a nation with enormous historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, the UK must champion solutions and help find the finance to deliver them.
By the same principle, that polluters must pay, taxes on the super-rich could help redress the shocking imbalance in carbon emissions with the world’s richest using hundreds of times the fossil fuels of the average citizen.
3. New government, new identity
With a new government and Prime Minister, the UK has an opportunity to reestablish itself as a strong voice for social progress, economic justice and international collaboration. Foreign Secretary David Lammy has spoken of wanting to “reset” relationships with the Global South. Taking responsibility to redirect just a fraction of the wealth pouring through London and other global financial centres to tackle the global inequality that is spiralling out of control would be a start. It is also an ideal opportunity for the Prime Minister to deepen the UK relationship with the next G20 president, South Africa – as the South African government has already indicated its commitment to carrying forward the G20 agenda on taxing the super-rich.
4. To put an end to the endless debate about wealth flight
For every 100 words written about wealth taxes, it seems 200 are written about the danger that multi-millionaires will flee from countries that do tax them to some low-tax paradise.
Many of these arguments have been debunked. But the fear of wealth flight remains and, together with the hyper-mobile nature of financial capital today, further highlights why international cooperation to agree on a global minimum standard is essential.
A deal to work together, to agree approaches or minimum rates across all regions of the world, would ideally leave super-rich individuals searching for zero tax with nowhere to go, making the debate about flight irrelevant.
5. To use this golden opportunity
President Lula has championed the idea of nations working together to fairly tax the super-rich. His nation’s injection of energy and belief has accelerated progress and won support for a policy that had looked like it might take years to achieve.
But Brazil’s presidency closes next week. Although South Africa, taking 2025’s presidency, has indicated its support for this agenda, 2025 will bring new challenges. The G20 must recognise the opportunity now in this summit’s momentum. And the UK must play its part in making it happen.
Brazil has put the world within touching distance of an extraordinary achievement: one that could start to deliver a huge and urgently needed boost to global social and economic justice; that could bolster our defences against climate change; that could turn the tide and start to redress the unchecked power of the super-rich.
Will world leaders, including the UK’s PM Keir Starmer, seize this golden opportunity?
Author
Join Oxfam’s #SayItWithMeNow campaign demanding that G20 leaders #TaxTheSuperRich! at http://sayitwithmenow.org.
And if you’re in the UK, click here to ask your MP to write to the Prime Minister ahead of the G20 summit in Brazil, urging him to work with other nations on a plan to tax the world’s richest people