Oxfam did not specify how many local billionaires it believes there are, although The Australian newspaper’s Richest 250 published in March reported there were 159.
The proposal is due to be fiercely debated at the summit on Thursday and Friday, with France, Spain, South Africa, Colombia, and the African Union in favour, while the United States is firmly against.
Source: SBS News
Oxfam dubbed it a “real litmus test for G20 governments”, urging them to implement an annual net wealth tax of at least 8 per cent on the “extreme wealth” of the super-rich.
“Do they have the political will to strike a global standard that puts the needs of the many before the greed of an elite few?”
It found that while Australia’s average wealth had increased 10 per cent year-on-year in 2023, median wealth only increased by about half as much, suggesting wealth in lower socioeconomic brackets rose more slowly than in the higher ones.
With reporting by the Australian Associated Press and Agence France-Presse