5 reasons why we must tax the super-rich

Billionaires live a completely different reality from the rest of us - and it’s not just about their private jets and luxury mansions. While many people are forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table, massive fortunes are being built at their expense.

When it’s time to pay their fair share, the super-rich often dodge taxes or pay far less, keeping that money out of the public purse. Instead of paying their fair share, which would benefit everyone through public services, they hide it in offshore tax havens, draining resources from governments and leaving public services severely underfunded.

This isn't just their behaviour - it’s an unfair system that lets them pay far less than they should. A system that’s putting us on track to have five new trillionaires in the next decade, while poverty levels have barely budged since 1990.

When public services suffer, it’s the people who rely on them the most who end up paying the price. Women are often the ones picking up the slack. They take on the lion’s share of care work - often unpaid or underpaid. This "women’s work" is often overlooked, but without it, society would fall apart.

Mebrit Kesaye (on the far left) understands better than most how vital it is to give communities the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. She’s the leader of a women-led savings and loans group in Ethiopia, supported by Women’s Empowerment-Action (WE-Action), an organisation Oxfam partners with, in Amhara.

Before launching her business, Mebrit was doing laundry and baking injera (a flat bread) just to make ends meet. She barely earned enough to support her three children “We suffered a lot,” Mebrit says. She wanted to do more. “I had a business mindset, but no money to work with.”

Everything changed when she had access to a loan. She bought sheep, bred them, and began selling them, hiring a shepherd to help. As she paid back her loans, Mebrit started saving and reinvesting. She says she is now financially independent. “I can now buy my kids whatever they need, including clothing and shoes.” She points out her television and other valuable possessions in her home, all paid for with her newfound income and savings.

Mebrit’s story is a powerful reminder that when people are given equal access to resources, they have the power to transform their lives.

The system that keeps the rich getting richer and so many people stuck in poverty has been thriving for years. Colonialism played a big role in laying the groundwork, with wealth extracted through the stealing of land, resources, and people.

We often think of colonialism as a thing of the past, but the 1% made a fortune back then - and they’re still cashing in today. In 2023 alone, the Global North drained $921 billion from the Global South, four times what was spent on aid. It creates a cycle of inherited wealth and power with vast resources funnelled out of the Global South, fuelling prosperity for the few.

A wealth tax could help undo some of this damage by redistributing wealth more fairly. It would also help stop the super-rich from using their power to make rules that protect their vast fortunes at everyone else’s expense.

The carbon footprint of the richest 1% is huge because they often consume on a massive scale - think super yachts and private jets. Many of the super-rich also have investments in industries like fossil fuels, deforestation and mining, which adds to the damage.

All of this means they contribute as much pollution as two-thirds of the world combined. Yet, they have the resources to shield themselves from the worst of the climate crisis, while the poorest - who’ve done the least damage - are bearing the brunt: floods, droughts, rising seas.

Hilda knows firsthand just how unjust the climate crisis is.

The truth is that the very systems that concentrate wealth in the hands of a few are also stoking the flames of the climate crisis.

It’s a broken system, plain and simple. Taxing the super-rich could help fund sustainable solutions we desperately need so that we all have a future.

In 2024 alone, billionaire fortunes soared by a staggering $2 trillion - three times more than the year before. At this rate, we’ll have five trillionaires in the next decade. But here’s the thing: we don’t have to accept a system that values billionaire wealth above people and planet. There’s another way - a way that prioritises fairness, people and planet.

Taxing the super-rich is a crucial step toward a fairer system. It's not the only solution, but it’s a powerful one. By making sure the wealthiest contribute their share, we can help fund the services that everyone depends on, reduce inequalities, and protect the planet for future generations.

Billionaires like to call themselves "self-made," but 60% of their wealth comes from family handouts, monopoly power and cronyism. They're not makers - they’re takers, hoarding wealth by getting special favours from powerful friends, crushing competition and inheriting fortunes.

Everyone deserves the chance to thrive, with equal access to resources and a fair playing field. It’s time for the super-rich to pay their fair share and contribute to the societies that allowed them to accumulate their wealth in the first place. Only then can we build a future where everyone has the chance to succeed.

Taxing the super-rich isn’t about punishing success - it’s about creating a fairer system that works for everyone, not just the few at the top.

We don’t have to accept a system where the wealthy get richer while millions struggle. If billionaires paid fairer taxes and if tax loopholes were closed, that money could transform lives.

Our leaders have chosen to let billionaire fortunes skyrocket. Their policies haven’t just failed us - they’ve deepened an inequality crisis. It’s time to demand they tax the rich and create a future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

If you think it’s time for a fairer future, join us today.

• Add your name: Join the fight for a fairer future. It’s time to tax the rich.
• Make a donation: Support women to access the resources they need to succeed. Whether it’s a loan to kick-start a business or the opportunity to gain valuable skills and training, your support could help people secure a better future for their families.
• Read Oxfam’s latest report: Takers not Makers.