The idea of clamping down on the rich often enjoys large public support. In practice, it rarely succeeds – even when citizens can vote directly on it. Why not? Inequality is unpopular in the European Union (EU). Across the 27-country bloc, 65% of people would support a tax on the wealthiest 0.001%, a 2024 Eurobarometer survey found. But last year, an effort to kickstart such an idea fell flat when an EU-wide “Citizens Initiative” didn’t even make it past the signature-collection stage. Out of 450 million Europeans, just 370,000 signed up – far short of the one million needed. In Switzerland, where direct democracy is well-oiled, calls to “tax the rich” are more likely to pass this hurdle. In recent years, left-wing initiatives to tax capital gains (2021), scrap lump-sum tax deals (2014), or cap executive pay (2013) have all made it to a public ballot. The latest, a proposal for a 50% levy on big inheritances, gathered 130,000 signatures – in a country of 9 million – to force a ...
