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IZA Discussion Paper No. 18043
July 2025
Deservingness of the Rich, Wealth Taxation, and the Paradox of Inheritance
Sharon Baute, Luna Bellani, Katharina Hecht

Wealth is increasingly unequally distributed in many countries. This study examines public perceptions of wealth deservingness and preferences for taxing the wealth of the rich, focusing on how opinions vary based on the amount, use, and origin of wealth. Drawing on an original vignette experiment conducted in Germany (n=6,018), our results show a consistent pattern: as wealth increases, its perceived deservingness declines, while support for taxation rises. Similarly, spending on luxury items is seen as less deserving than philanthropic or nonprofit investments, leading to greater support for taxing the wealth of luxury spending rich people. However, wealth obtained through inheritance presents a puzzling exception: although it is perceived as the least deserving compared to wealth gained through entrepreneurship or management, this does not translate into a stronger preference for taxing inheritors over managers. These findings, which hold across different income and wealth groups as well as political affiliations, highlight the complex and sometimes contradictory public attitudes toward the rich and the taxation of their wealth.

Communications
Mark Fallak
mark.fallak@liser.lu
+352 585-855-526
World of Labour
Olga Nottmeyer
olga.nottmeyer@liser.lu
+352 585-855-501
Network Coordination
Christina Gathmann
christina.gathmann@liser.lu

The IZA@LISER Network is a global community of scholars dedicated to excellence in labor economics and related fields, now coordinated at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) following its transition from Bonn.

About IZA@LISER Network
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