Amid Davos, calls are growing to tax the ‘ultra rich.’ Where does Canada stand?

'Wealth inequality is out of control and is at levels that we haven't seen before,' said one advocate for higher taxes on the world's wealthiest people.

As global leaders gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, there are growing calls to tax what some call the “ultra rich” — but how feasible is that in Canada?

A new report released by Oxfam International Monday suggested that the world’s wealthiest one per cent accumulated nearly twice as much new wealth — a whopping US$26 trillion — compared to the remaining 99 per cent of the global population over the past two years.

That report said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, billionaire fortunes rose by US$2.7 billion a day, while at least 1.7 billion workers live in countries where inflation is outpacing their wages and over 820 million people are going hungry.

“Wealth inequality is out of control and is at levels that we haven’t seen before, and we’re starting to see poverty increase for the first time in 25 years,” said Ian Thomson, policy manager at Oxfam Canada in Ottawa.

The Oxfam report comes as the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of political and business leaders, is underway in Davos.

To narrow the ever-widening gap between the wealthy and poor, Oxfam is urging governments to introduce a range of tax policies targeting the rich.

These include one-time “solidarity” wealth and windfall taxes, as well as permanently raising taxes on the richest one per cent.

And now, some millionaires, including wealthy Canadians, are joining the calls for higher taxes.