In a new report, Oxfam once again highlights inequality in our country. For example, according to the NGO, for every 100 euros in profit that the largest companies in Belgium make, 73 euros flow back to their shareholders, while average expenditure per employee increased by a smaller amount than the dividend.
Oxfam calls on the future government to take measures for a fair distribution of wealth.
The NGO that wants to combat inequality and strives for a fair economy has come up with “The Inequality Dividend” on the occasion of May 1, Labor Day. According to the organization, the report shows how inequality is systematically produced in our country.
On the one hand, companies’ profit margins have never been higher in the past twenty years, according to the NGO. Oxfam refers to the 1 percent largest companies, measured by wage bill. But the wage standard does not allow for a surcharge above the index in 2023 and 2024, it says, while profits fueled inflation.
“Contrary to popular belief, we believe it is corporate profits that have contributed most to the strong period of inflation we have experienced.” Or again: “In Belgium, business margins contributed twice as much to inflation in 2021 as wage increases. In 2022, the contribution of corporate margins to inflation was still 25 percent higher than wages.”
A century of working at minimum wage
Oxfam labels the fact that no storage is possible as “absurd”. Also because, according to the authors, the value created by employees in the largest companies active in Belgium increased by 45.5 percent in 2022 compared to 2017. But in that period, expenditure per employee in those companies only increased by 13 percent, while dividends increased by 23 percent. percent increases.
According to Oxfam, profit maximization comes at the expense of wages and fair prices. Moreover, the wealth that companies generate is not distributed fairly, the statement goes. “On average, 73 percent of the profits of large companies are paid out in the form of dividends to shareholders. Over the past 6 years, some companies have even paid out more dividends than they made in profit,” said Eva Smets, director of Oxfam Belgium. She points out that the margins of large companies have never been so high.
Furthermore, Oxfam states that someone earning the minimum wage would have to work for more than a century to earn the average annual wage of a Bel20 business leader. The tax system also creates inequality because wages are taxed, but, for example, the added value on the sale of shares is not.
Recommendations
Oxfam is therefore launching a series of recommendations. For example, more action is needed against monopolies and the wage standard law must be revised. The remuneration of directors must also be regulated by linking income to sustainability objectives. Furthermore, Oxfam calls for consistent taxation of capital gains and dividends, and a minimum tax of 25 percent for multinationals.
