The richest 1% of the Italian population owns 23.4% of net national wealth, Oxfam Italia director Roberto Barbieri said on Thursday.
The divide is a "disturbing and unhealthy inequality, both from an economic point of view and from one animated by more ethical considerations," Barbieri said of the picture to emerge from a Demopolis study carried out for Oxfam. On an international level, "62 moneybags own the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the global population, namely 3.6 billion people," he added.
Two in three Italians are "strongly aware" of income inequality and "over 60% consider the concentration of assets and access to the job market to be two further areas in which inequality can be seen most clearly in Italy," the study found. In addition, 61% of Italians believe inequality has grown over the last five years.
Some 82% of the population pointed the finger at the "unfair tax system" and 85% called for clearer measures to prevent tax evasion or avoidance by multinational companies and wealthy individuals to the detriment of the State and the collectivity.
The study also revealed a high level of support for greater transparency concerning taxation.
Specifically, 86% of Italians are in favour of measures allowing the real beneficiaries of companies, foundations and trusts to be fully disclosed; and 76% support the request for transparency in the balance sheets of multinational companies by obliging them to publish information on their activities and profits and on the taxes paid in every country where they operate.
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