Australia's Richest Own Nearly Half Of Country's Wealth

The richest people in Australia own almost half of the country’s wealth and generate income nine times more than the lowest earners. A new report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed that Australia’s poverty rates are slightly above the OECD average.

While inequality between the rich and the poor in Australia increased since the 1990s, it is still below the average of other countries. The top 10 per cent of Australia’s high income earners have nine times more money than the bottom 10 percent.

The poverty rate of Australia has not increased since 2007. The wealth of middle income earners have increased at a faster rate than the country’s top earners. Although the top 10 percent get nine times more money than the bottom 10 percent, it is slightly better than the OECD average with 9.6 times more, reports SBS.

Most of the OECD countries have the highest income gap level in 30 years. According to the report, the richest 10 percent of the population earn 9.6 times the income of the poorest 10 percent. The OECD said the ratio was 7 to 1 in the 1980s.

“We have reached a tipping point. Inequality in OECD countries is at its highest since records began,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria. He added that governments are hurting their long-term economic growth by not addressing income and wealth inequality.

The report said half of the jobs between 1995 and 2013 in the OECD countries were either part-time or temporary work as well as self-employment. As inequality rose, there were significant drops in educational skills and educational attainment among families.

The OECD report also found that the wages of women are 15 percent less than for men. Gender equality is seen as one way to reduce inequality. Another way is to redistribute taxes. The OECD noted that existing mechanisms have been weakened in other countries.

The report recommends the development of policies to ensure that wealthier individuals and multinational companies pay their fair share of the tax burden. The OECD plays a significant role in an international effort to prevent tax avoidance, reports news.com.au. OECD countries with the highest inequality are Chile, Mexico, Turkey, Israel and the U.S. Inequality is low in Denmark, Slovenia, Slovak Republic and Norway.

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