Australian billionaires 61% richer than before COVID amid calls for…

The wealth of Australian billionaires has risen by 61% during the pandemic, according to a new report, prompting renewed calls to rethink the government’s third stage of tax cuts ahead of the May federal budget.

The analysis was published on Monday as part of Oxfam’s Annual Inequality Reportwhich revealed that there are 11 more billionaires in Australia today than there were in 2020, while Australia’s richest 1% overall pocketed more than $2,500 per second, or $150,000 per minute, over the past decade.

Anthea Spinks, program director for Oxfam Australia, said Crikey the results should open the door to a new debate on the introduction of the third stage tax cuts, which should come into force from July 2024, as well as a wider tax reform aimed at cauterizing income inequality in Australia.