Spain, Brazil Urge Global Tax on Super-Rich to Curb Inequality

A $220 million yacht reportedly owned by a tech oligarch moors in the Mediterranean Sea.

Spain and Brazil have launched a joint initiative to promote higher tax contributions from the super-rich worldwide, aiming to tackle soaring inequality by ensuring that those with the most pay their fair share.

Presented during the UN’s 4th International Conference on Financing for Development – taking place this week in Sevilla, Spain – the proposal highlights a growing problem: the wealthiest individuals often contribute less to public finances than ordinary taxpayers, due to lower effective tax rates and legal loopholes.

“Our countries need more and more public revenues to meet their needs. Inequality is a problem everywhere, and the richest pay less than the middle class – even less than lower-income taxpayers,” said Spain’s Secretary of State for Finance, Jesús Gascón, during a press conference at the venue, where temperatures have soared to record highs in recent days.

The two governments are calling on others to join a global drive for a fairer and more progressive tax system. They point to a stark reality: the wealthiest one per cent of the global population owns more than 95 per cent of humanity combined.

In today’s interconnected world, access to reliable data is essential. The initiative prioritises information sharing—between governments and tax authorities—to help expose gaps in tax systems, close loopholes, and combat evasion and avoidance.

Improving data quality and building national capacities for data analysis will help tax administrations identify where and how wealth is concentrated, how much is currently being paid, and what needs to change.

Though some progress has been made, the countries insist much more must be done and that many more nations should join the effort.

“There’s a real need to know who the beneficial owners are behind companies and legal structures used to conceal wealth,” said Mr. Gascón. The initiative also proposes technical cooperation, training in data analytics, and peer review mechanisms to strengthen national tax systems.

Spain and Brazil are even considering steps toward a global wealth registry—acknowledging that such a move would require time, political will, and major national efforts.

But the aim is clear: more transparency, more accountability, and fairer contributions from the richest.

“We cannot tolerate the intensity of inequality, which has been increasing in recent years,” said Brazil’s Minister-Counsellor to the UN, José Gilberto Scandiucci, denying that this was a far-left agenda.

“This is a moderate initiative to confront a very radical reality.”

The proposal forms part of the Seville Platform for Action, which is accelerating voluntary efforts to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—currently far off track for the 2030 deadline.

The initiative follows the 2024 agreement by the G20 industrialised nations—reached in Rio, Brazil—the first international accord committing to a joint tax agenda for high-net-worth individuals.

A three-month work plan is now being drafted, with regular meetings planned to track progress. The goal: to bring more countries, international organisations, and civil society into a united front to advance tax reforms targeting the ultra-rich.

“If we want to effectively tax the super-rich, fight inequality, and make our tax systems fairer and more progressive, we need political will – and we need to act within our means,” Mr. Gascón added.