Our economy is broken, with hundreds of millions of people living in extreme poverty while huge rewards go to those at the very top.
Universal health, education and other public services reduce the gap between rich and poor, and between genders. Fairer taxation of the wealthiest can help pay for them.
Read our report ‘Public Good or Private Wealth?’ to learn how we can achieve this.
See the report’s methodology here.
The report also reveals that the richest 5% of the population collectively owns more wealth than the bottom 90%.
Oxfam’s research forms part of a global report released to coincide with this week’s annual meeting of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world, as they gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is scheduled to attend the meeting, which focuses on global politics, economics and social issues.
Published later today, the full report, Public Good or Private Wealth?, shows how the growing gap between rich and poor is undermining the fight against poverty, damaging local economies and fuelling public anger across the globe. The report reveals how governments are exacerbating inequality by, on the one hand, underfunding public services such as healthcare and education, while, on the other, under taxing corporations and the wealthy, and failing to clamp down on tax avoidance. The research also finds that consistently, women and girls are hardest hit by rising economic inequality.
Rachael Le Mesurier, executive director of Oxfam New Zealand, said: “We have a long way to go before we can say that every Kiwi is getting a fair go. We know inequality is harmful for us all. It perpetuates poverty, erodes trust, fuels crime, makes us unhappy, negates economic growth, and robs opportunity from the poorest – including shortening their lives. And women and girls suffer the most – across their lifetimes women have less opportunity than men to get paid work, they earn less and are less able to invest in assets.
“One of the key things we can do to tackle inequality here and across the world is to tax wealth more. Our taxes pay for schools, hospitals, and infrastructure such as communications and roads on which we all rely. Across the world, rich multinational corporations and extremely wealthy individuals are not paying their fair share. When big business and the super-rich don’t pay their fair share of tax, the rest of us pay the price – with kids without teachers, long waiting lists for health interventions, and not enough police in our communities.
“But to tax wealth more, we need to see it. We need more transparency in our tax system, both for multinational corporations and extremely wealthy individuals. We need more information in the public realm so that we can make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share – and that we grow a New Zealand where everyone gets a fair go in life.
“We are eagerly anticipating the release of the Tax Working Group’s final report early this year. As a country we’ve been talking about wealth taxes, such as capital gains, for some time now. To tackle the stubborn inequality that plagues ordinary, working Kiwis, we need to stop talking and start doing,” said Le Mesurier. “We hope the Tax Working Group takes this opportunity to recommend greater wealth taxes and more transparency, and we encourage the government to take the bold action necessary to reduce inequality”.
Notes to editors
For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:
Kelsey-Rae Taylor | [email protected] | 021 298 5894
The report is being launched as political and business leaders gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Earlier today Oxfam New Zealand reported that the two richest people in New Zealand added an astounding NZ$1.1 billion to their fortunes in 2017-2018, while the wealth of the poorest half of the country decreased overall by NZ$1.3 billion.
Public Good or Private Wealth shows the growing gap between rich and poor is undermining the fight against poverty, damaging our economies and fuelling public anger across the globe. It reveals how governments are exacerbating inequality by underfunding public services, such as healthcare and education, on the one hand, while under taxing corporations and the wealthy, and failing to clamp down on tax dodging, on the other. It also finds that women and girls are hardest hit by rising economic inequality.
Rachael Le Mesurier, Executive Director of Oxfam New Zealand, said:
“The size of your bank account should not dictate how many years your children spend in school, or how long you live – yet this is the reality in too many countries across the globe. While corporations and the super-rich enjoy low tax bills, millions of girls are denied a decent education and women are dying for lack of maternity care.”
The report reveals that the number of billionaires has almost doubled since the financial crisis, with a new billionaire created every two days between 2017 and 2018, yet wealthy individuals and corporations are paying lower rates of tax than they have in decades.
At the same time, public services are suffering from chronic underfunding or being outsourced to private companies that exclude the poorest people. In many countries a decent education or quality healthcare has become a luxury only the rich can afford. Every day 10,000 people die because they lack access to affordable healthcare. In developing countries, a child from a poor family is twice as likely to die before the age of five than a child from a rich family. In countries like Kenya a child from a rich family will spend twice as long in education as one from a poor family.
Cutting taxes on wealth predominantly benefits men who own 50 percent more wealth than women globally, and control over 86 percent of corporations.
Conversely, when public services are neglected poor women and girls suffer most. Girls are pulled out of school first when the money isn’t available to pay fees, and women clock up hours of unpaid work looking after sick relatives when healthcare systems fail. Oxfam estimates that if all the unpaid care work carried out by women across the globe was done by a single company it would have an annual turnover of $10 trillion – 43 times that of Apple, the world’s biggest company.
“People across the globe are angry and frustrated. Governments must now deliver real change by ensuring corporations and wealthy individuals pay their fair share of tax and investing this money in free healthcare and education that meets the needs of everyone – including women and girls whose needs are so often overlooked. Governments can build a brighter future for everyone – not just a privileged few,” added Le Mesurier.
Notes to editors
Oxfam’s calculations are based on the most up to date, comprehensive data sources available. Figures on the share of wealth owned by the poorest half of humanity come from Credit Suisse Wealth Databook and relate to the period June 2017 – June 2018. Figures on the very richest in society are based on more detailed data from the Annual Forbes ‘Billionaires List’ and relates to the period March 2017 – March 2018.
With these unique cards, you can make a loved one smile, while fighting poverty and protecting the environment, one gift at a time. Here’s how Oxfam Unwrapped makes an impact.
1. Helping people to overcome income inequality
Oxfam NZ’s work is focussed on providing families in the Pacific with sustainable, resilient pathways out of poverty. When you buy a gift such as a goat, chicken, onions or honey bees, you’re helping set up small businesses in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. The animals are well looked after and the aspiring farmers are offered support and training to give their ventures the best chance at success.
2. Improving access to education
We’re working with schools and families around the world to give children, especially the next generation of girls, a quality education. Oxfam’s approach is wide-ranging and includes improving facilities and the quality of teaching, inspiring communities to value education more highly, and providing school supplies.
3. Supporting those most in need
When tropical cyclones hit the Pacific, Oxfam is on the ground helping those who have been affected with hygiene kits and safe water, before going on to help communities rebuild their lives. Cards such as A Soft Landing After a Hard Fall or Water for a Family help to provide necessities for those affected by natural and man-made disasters, such as refugee crises.
4. Promoting gender equality
Educate and empower the next generation of women’s rights activists in places like Vanuatu with the Mana Wahine card. Women are supported with opportunities to generate sustainable livelihoods, and aspiring activists are trained in effective ways of campaigning for gender equality and the eradication of violence against women.
5. Go plastic free
Christmas Day can easily lead to an overload of waste, so we’ve made sure that your gift comes in organic, compostable and recyclable packaging and courier bags. Or even better: select a digital (PDF) card which you can download and send to be completely waste-free.
6. Showing kindness to animals
Our farmers given training to provide their animals with the best possible care and on visits to our programmes we find them healthy and enjoying life. Products we include alongside our cards in our Premium Gifts, such as Ethique Shampoo Bars, are cruelty-free and save on plastic.
7. Fair Trade all the way
Not only will you help aspiring farmers get a fair price for their produce, all Oxfam Unwrapped promotional products, like Fair Trade Chocolate, are ethically sourced from small producers. This means those all along the supply chain are paid a fair price for what they sell, leading to a more equal world for everyone involved.
8. Spreading good vibes and generosity
By gifting a gift card like Feed a Family for Christmas, you can enjoy your festive meal, with the knowledge that you’ve helped a family in need purchase food during a hard time. Cards like these help to provide vouchers for families, like Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar, so they’re able to purchase necessary food and spices.
Shop now to see the full range and learn more about the communities each Oxfam Unwrapped gift card supports.
We’ve rounded up the top five ways you’re helping to make a positive difference in the world when you give an Unwrapped charity gift card this Christmas.
1. You’re fighting to end poverty
All gift cards support Oxfam’s work and offer people in the Pacific and beyond the opportunity to earn a sustainable income. They help to provide training, support and resources to make sure small businesses thrive, in the face of challenges that can affect farming and fishing, such as climate change.
2. Helping families in crisis
Oxfam provides resources for those affected by natural disasters or displaced by conflict. Proceeds from Oxfam Unwrapped support the many humanitarian relief efforts around the world by providing food, clean water, solar lights and bedding to families in need.
3. Supporting women’s rights activists
By choosing an Oxfam Unwrapped gift card, you’re assisting the work of women’s rights activists around the world, who are calling for gender equality and an end to violence against women. Oxfam supports training for campaigners in countries such as Vanuatu, so they can educate others on creating a safer, more inclusive community.
4. Empowering curious minds with education opportunities
Education is a key pathway out of poverty, and improving access to education can change lives around the world. From Papua New Guinea to Pakistan, Oxfam helps to support teachers and provide resources such as books, blackboards, pens and clean water.
5. Spreading our mission to end the injustice of poverty
By sharing an Oxfam Unwrapped gift card with family and friends you’re helping to spread the word about the positive impact that can be made in communities around the world. It’s also an excellent way to educate younger family members about the diverse lives of families around the world. The more people learn about Oxfam’s life-changing programmes, the more successful we’ll be in creating a world free from the injustice of poverty.
Shop now to see the full range and learn more about the communities each Oxfam Unwrapped gift card supports.
Photo: Katie G. Nelson/Oxfam
Oxfam and its partners are already delivering humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of people caught up in deadly floods, storms and droughts, made worse by climate change. This includes a persistent drought in the Horn of Africa that has led to devastating shortages of food and water, affecting at least 16 million people; unusually widespread flooding across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia that damaged crops and property and displaced at least one million people in early 2018; and super typhoon Manghut that caused extensive damage across Asia in September – including in the Philippines where 200 mile an hour winds triggered deadly landslides.
Kristen Hite, Oxfam Climate Change Policy Lead for Oxfam said:
“We are already seeing the impact of just one degree of warming – with communities across the globe ravaged by fire, floods and storms like never before. Yet government’s current emissions pledges put us on track for a truly terrifying 3 degrees of warming.”
Climate change is a global threat but it is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people – those who rely on rain to grow crops, live in poorly built structures in marginal areas, and lack savings or insurance – who are hit hardest.
Even limiting global warming to to 1.5 degrees Celsius could see 100 million more people pushed into poverty according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The World Bank has projected that 143million people will be displaced in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America by 2050 without urgent action.
Hite said, “Humanity needs bold, brave leadership and action right now. Countries suffering the worst impacts – like the Marshall Islands – are leading by example. It’s time for the world’s biggest, wealthiest emitters to follow their lead.”
“Governments meeting in Poland must cut emissions faster and further and developed countries must set out how they will mobilise the $100 billion a year they have promised to support climate action in poor countries,” added Hite.
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