Sir, – In his recent article “Tax the millionaire home owners, not the billionaires” (Opinion & Analysis, January 19th), Newton Emerson makes a number of accusations against Oxfam and our recent report on wealth inequality, Survival of the Richest, which we would like to refute.
First, our research deals with net wealth (assets minus debt), the accepted measure in the study of the distribution of wealth and much fairer on those who may be asset-rich but deeply indebted.
This is something we were also happy to point out to the Taoiseach after Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil this week.
Newton Emerson is right to say that property asset values have risen more dynamically than financial assets in Ireland recently, particularly in the first quarters of 2022 as market values dipped. But that does not negate the fact that asset inflation of our property (and housing) assets is deeply problematic. In fact, it distracts from the overall point that we are making, that elite net wealth in Ireland has doubled over a decade, whether in property or financial assets.
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We highlight the number of billionaires – Irish and international – to emphasise how out-of-control inequality is rising, meaning that globally, for the first time in 25 years, the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting even poorer. And as a result, hard-won efforts to reduce global poverty have ground to a halt.
However, your columnist is wrong to suggest we’re focussing on a “handful of billionaires”. In fact, we’re in agreement with him that meaningful redistribution also requires targeting millionaires. Our findings highlight a wealth tax base comprising Ireland’s eight billionaires as well as 20,575 individuals with net wealth above €4.7 million, which includes 1,435 people with individual wealth over €47 million.
Globally, we campaign to reduce the wealth of the richest 1 per cent because that is where the most extreme accumulation of wealth is taking place, and that is where the most meaningful redistribution is required.
If there were an equally high rate of accumulation among the top 10 per cent or 12 per cent, we would campaign to reduce that.
And finally, Oxfam does not advocate for a wealth tax because it is politically advantageous or as a way to “reinvent ourselves”. In Ireland and as a global organisation – directly supporting 15.6 million people affected by poverty and disaster worldwide – we have been campaigning on inequality for a decade. We do this because it is one of the best ways to end extreme poverty. And it is not just Oxfam saying this. The International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank, as well as many wealthy people (such as the Patriotic Millionaires) have also recognised that inequality is damaging economies and societies.
All our statistics are based on credible sources, including data from Forbes, Credit Suisse and Wealth-X, a private company producing wealth data for market analysis, and we provide a comprehensive methodology note alongside our report.
We don’t claim that our reports are incontestable; in fact, we welcome their investigation. The very reason we publish them is to start a national and global conversation on the need for a wealth tax at this time of unprecedented crisis, fuelled by inequality. – Yours, etc,
JIM CLARKEN,
CEO,
Oxfam Ireland,
Ringsend,
Dublin 4.