Billionaires, Meet the (Proposed) 2% Cover Charge
The Big Picture: A fresh working paper is making waves inside the G20: slap a 2% global minimum tax on the planet’s 2,781 billionaires and you could slow the widening wealth gap while raising serious revenue. The idea, detailed by economists Gabriel Zucman, Kane Borders, and Panayiotis Nicolaides, is now on the table for finance ministers gearing up for their October summit, Eurasia Review reports.
The Details:
• The number of billionaires has ballooned from 140 in the 1980s to 2,781 today, expanding at a 10% annual clip.
• Researchers say these ultra-wealthy currently pay an effective tax rate of just 20,25%, well below the 25,50% most citizens shoulder.
• A uniform 2% levy on their net worth would act as a “supplementary rate” and could, according to the paper, prevent billionaire wealth from swelling to a projected 20% of global GDP within a decade.
• The authors acknowledge enforcement headaches, think offshore havens and art vaults, but argue that automatic information exchange and asset registries have made the idea “administratively feasible.”
Why It Matters / What They’re Saying: The reaction was swift. Advocates frame the levy as a fairness fix. Critics warn of capital flight. As Zucman’s team notes, “without coordinated action, the billionaire tax deficit will only grow.” Expect fireworks when G20 ministers decide whether to move the proposal from whiteboard to rulebook.
Around the Tax World
• Colombia’s Competitiveness Crash: Colombia ranked 38th of 38 in the Tax Foundation’s 2024 International Tax Competitiveness Index, dragged down by a 35% corporate rate, a net-wealth tax, and the infamous “4×1000” financial-transactions levy (Colombia One).
• Norway Votes on a 133-Year-Old Wealth Tax: Monday’s parliamentary election has turned the country’s up-to-1.1% wealth tax into a ballot-box litmus test, with the center-left defending it and right-leaning parties calling for cuts or outright repeal (ABC News).
• Tax Scandal Topples UK Deputy PM: Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned after underpaying tax on a property, triggering an emergency cabinet reshuffle and further headaches for Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Hindustan Times).
• Wallet Watch in Europe: Real household income per capita fell in ten of sixteen tracked European economies in Q1 2025; the U.K. logged the sharpest drop at 1.3%, while Hungary topped growth at 1.9% (inkl).
By the Numbers
Prime Number: 2,781 , the current headcount of global billionaires, up from just 140 four decades ago (Eurasia Review).
Looking Ahead
All eyes are on the G20 finance ministers’ meeting next month. If the 2% billionaire levy survives the talking stage, expect a cascade of technical committees and plenty of lobbying before year-end.