A recent study by the European Union (EU) Tax Observatory shows that billionaires worldwide have effective tax rates equivalent to 0% to 0.5% of their wealth. Experts warn of a possible minimum tax.
Data shows that this minimal or no taxation is due to the frequent use of shell companies to avoid paying income taxes.
“A basic proposal is to introduce a global minimum tax on billionaires of 2% of their wealth,” suggests the Fiscal Observatory, adding that this measure could result in the tax machinery providing 236 billion euros ($250 billion) worldwide .
Additionally, data shows that the 15% global minimum tax on multinationals has been weakened over time, whereas it was initially expected to increase global tax revenues by almost 10%.
Experts also point out that tightening the global minimum tax on multinational companies would raise more than 236 billion euros ($250 billion) a year.
On the other hand, the EU study shows that offshore tax evasion by the superrich has decreased. “We estimate that thanks to the automatic exchange of banking information, offshore tax evasion has fallen by around three times over the last decade.” “This success shows that it is possible to make rapid progress against tax evasion if there is the political will to do so exists,” they write in the study.
Prepared by the team at the EU Tax Observatory, a research laboratory founded in 2021 to analyze international tax issues, this report summarizes the work of more than 100 researchers around the world, often in collaboration with tax authorities.