Brazil’s Haddad Urges Global Tax on Super-Rich at BRICS Forum

Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad used the annual meeting of the Novo Banco de Desenvolvimento—commonly known as the BRICS bank—in Rio de Janeiro on 4 July to press for higher taxes on the world’s wealthiest individuals. He argued that marginal income-tax rates for top earners have fallen sharply since the 1970s, fueling what he called “unimaginable” levels of wealth concentration. Haddad cited estimates that about 3,000 families control roughly US$15 trillion, underscoring the need for the Global South to spearhead a debate on taxing extreme fortunes. The minister warned that without additional revenue, countries already strained by the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic will struggle to fund economic and social priorities, including the transition to new technologies.