It’s a complex picture but some of the key drivers of economic inequality are:
- A shift in what’s valued in many countries – there’s been a greater financial return placed on money and assets (capital) than on work - Governments cutting the tax rates for money made on capital at the same time as people with that capital taking steps to avoid the tax they should pay
- Wages for the top earners skyrocketing while the wages of average workers barely change, and crucially;
- Individuals and firms who have the capital using their power and position to have the rules changed in their favour.

The impact of extreme inequality is most keenly felt in developing countries where missing out means remaining trapped in the cycle of extreme poverty. It’s estimated that tax dodging by multinational companies costs the world’s poorest countries at least USD $100 billion every year.

All of us. Right now, Australians are seeing the direct results of economic inequality. Over the past decade the number of billionaires in Australia has tripled, while real wages have stagnated. Oxfam is committed to tackling poverty and inequality in Australia and overseas – but we have a broken economic system that is concentrating wealth in the hands of the rich and powerful.

Oxfam’s inequality report shows that globally governments can exacerbate inequality by underfunding critical public services like schools and hospitals, whilst setting the lowest tax rates for companies and the super-rich have seen in decades. Just like in Australia, developing countries need tax revenue to pay for essential public services like healthcare, education and clean water for everyone. But when corporations don’t pay their fair share of tax, they make it much harder for developing countries to build stronger and healthier communities.