EU Study Finds Wealth Taxes Workable If Designed Correctly

Taxes on the wealthy can play a greater role in raising revenue and ensuring more equal societies across the EU, a European Commission-sponsored study found.

“There is a case to reexamine and, where appropriate, strengthen the contribution of wealth-related tax bases to the financing of European welfare states,” according to the study, published Wednesday, by independent researchers at the Center for Social and Economic Research and PricewaterhouseCoopers, among others.

The study found that while wealth taxes historically haven’t raised significant revenue and aren’t widely adopted, the reason was that they were usually designed poorly.

Such taxes function ...