Governments should open a new front in the international clampdown on tax evasion with a global minimum tax on billionaires, which could raise $250 billion annually, the EU Tax Observatory said on Monday.
Currently billionaires effectively pay far less personal tax than other taxpayers of more modest means because they can park wealth in shell companies sheltering them from income tax, the group said in its 2024 Global Tax Evasion Report.
Although the end of banking secrecy and the corporate minimum tax have largely put an end to decades-long competition between countries on tax rates, numerous opportunities remain to reduce tax bills, the report said.
For example, the rich increasingly park wealth in real estate instead of offshore accounts while companies can exploit loopholes in the 15% corporate tax minimum.
Meanwhile, governments are increasingly competing for investment through subsidies rather than competing only on low tax rates, the Observatory said.
Persons:
Gabriel Zucman, Joe Biden’s, ” Zucman, Zucman
Organizations:
EU Tax, Paris School of Economics, ”
Locations:
United States, France, Washington