Last Friday, I was in a discussion with an editorial writer with a major California newspaper. We were discussing Proposition 42, which is on the November ballot in California. Prop 42, if passed, would amend California’s constitution so that the legislature could not impose special taxes on people’s retirement assets or pensions.
The editorial writer asserted that a fair number of European governments impose taxes on assets. He seemed to be suggesting that it was legitimate for California’s government to do so also. I replied that a number of European governments had repealed their wealth taxes. I then said that because I hadn’t expected the conversation to be about Europe, I hadn’t researched that recently. But, I said, I was pretty sure that over half of the European governments that had had wealth taxes had repealed them.
He asked me why they had repealed them. I said I didn’t know for sure but that the likely reason is that they were losing some of their wealthiest residents to other countries that didn’t impose taxes on wealth.
Later that day, I checked and I was right about the number.
Here’s what ChatGPT told me.
The basic numbers
According to the OECD, 12 OECD countries had individual net wealth taxes in 1990, and all 12 were European countries. By 2017, only four OECD countries still had them, three of which were European: Norway, Spain, and Switzerland.
The 12 European countries that had such taxes in 1990 were:
Austria: Repealed 1994
Denmark: Repealed 1997
Germany: Repealed 1997
Netherlands: Repealed 2001
Finland: Repealed 2006
Iceland: Repealed 2006, later temporarily reinstated
Luxembourg: Repealed 2006
Sweden: Repealed 2007
France: Broad wealth tax replaced in 2018 by a tax on real estate wealth
Norway: Still has one
Spain: Still has one, although suspended effectively in 2008 and reinstated in 2011
Switzerland: Still has one, imposed at the cantonal level.
DRH note: The surprise, to me, at least, in the above list is Luxembourg. I would have thought the Luxembourg government would have been smart enough to never have imposed a tax on wealth.
Those Norwegians are a little greedy. On top of what is arguably the highest wealth tax in the world, Norway boasts the biggest State wealth fund under management: As of the end of the first half of 2026, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (the “Oil Fund”) had a market value of 22,683 billion Norwegian kroner (NOK), which is equivalent to about US $2.34 trillion. This makes it the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund in terms of total assets under management.
Regarding the Swiss tax, it is my understanding that you are correct about it being levied at the cantonal level. However, the cantons can (and do) negotiate taxes directly with wealthy and/or ultra-high-income people. So, the Swiss see people doing things like moving from Zurich to Zug - similar to flight from CA to TX and FL in the US.