Global Inequality on the Rise

That the Parliament notes the recent report by Oxfam highlighting what it considers the alarming rate at which global inequality is increasing, with 26 individuals reportedly owning the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population, which is 3.8 billion people; considers that the under-taxation of society’s wealthiest individuals and corporations is directly linked to widening inequality; acknowledges the report’s finding that the richest 10% of people in the UK are paying a lower effective rate of tax than the poorest 10%, when consumption taxes are considered; believes that wealth needs to be taxed at fairer levels to strengthen public services and allow all members of society the opportunity to flourish, regardless of the financial circumstances that they are born into, and considers that there needs to be a greater emphasis on taxing wealth and ensuring that nobody is left behind.