In the press

Gabriel Zucman, an economist who became a household name in France last year thanks to his proposed wealth tax, is organizing a major summit on fiscal justice in Paris on Nov. 2

On Prof G Markets, Ed Elson is joined by Gabriel Zucman to break down Prop 40, the billionaire tax proposal in California. They discuss why Gabriel thinks it’s the most effective way to tax the ultrawealthy in the state, unpack the various criticisms of the tax, and consider what its influence could

Those who earn the most should pay the most — it is a cornerstone of our tax system. But at the very top of the pyramid, everything is turned upside down: the richest 5,000 households pay, on average, only 20–25 percent.

Gabriel Zucman, internationally renowned economist, joins us to discuss his new book "We Need to Tax Billionaires" and Proposition 40 in California, which would impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires.

Latin American billionaires are getting increasingly richer; their wealth increased sixfold between 2000 and 2026, while that of the poorest 50% remained virtually stagnant. We discuss this with Vicente Silva, Senior Policy Advisor at the International Tax Observatory.

Economic experts have claimed a 2 per cent charge on households with more than £100m in assets would raise a vast amount and affect less than 1,000 of the wealthiest households in the UK.

The sum could be raised through a 2% minimum charge on households with more than £100m in wealth and would affect fewer than 1,000 of the richest UK households, according to the study by Gabriel Zucman and Ben Tippet.

Can the super rich ever be fairly taxed, or are there too many functioning tax havens? Can capitalism survive the ever growing disparity between the top 1% and the rest? Should billionaires exist at all?

There is a fundamental tension between extreme wealth and democracy. Beyond a certain point, capital ceases to be money and becomes power: the power to shape markets, dominate public debate, influence governments, finance elections, and weaken democratic institutions.

“The problem is not that billionaires pay nothing. The problem is that they pay a much smaller share of what they actually own, compared with what ordinary workers pay on their wages. That is the anomaly we need to correct.”