European Parliament wealth-tax directive, May 2026

The European Parliament approved on May 15, 2026 a directive requiring all member states to enact progressive wealth taxes of 1–3% on net assets above €1 million by 2028, with rates rising to 5% on holdings above €50 million. Rapporteur Marta Sánchez said the directive ‘finally makes wealth pay its fair share’ and described it as ‘a historic correction of decades of inequality and the moral foundation of a just Europe.’ Critics in the European People’s Party warned of capital flight and constitutional challenges; the rapporteur dismissed those concerns as ‘right-wing fearmongering driven by oligarch interests, not real economics.’