Make it Equal: New data analysis on wealth inequalities

The Infra4NextGen project has published a new Topline Results report that analyses panel survey data on wealth inequality.

Produced as part of the Make it Equal theme, the report explores public attitudes towards inequality, inheritance and proposed taxes to reduce inequality.

The report—Topline Results: European Attitudes to Wealth Inequality and Wealth Taxation—focuses on whether respondents think wealth leads to advantages in life.

Written by Susan Banducci (University of Birmingham), Dániel Bremer and István György Tóth (Tárki Social Research Institute), the authors compared data on wealth inequalities between younger and older respondents.

The analysis finds that there is broad public recognition that wealth and inheritance are drivers of unequal chances for people in life.

But respondents across Europe are unclear on whether these wealth differences should be addressed at all and are mixed on potential levers to reduce inequalities.

Support for a wealth tax is higher than an inheritance tax across Europe, especially amongst respondents aged under 35.

The report analysed survey data collected via the Infra4NextGen self-completion web-first panel survey (CRONOS-3), fielded over five waves in 11 countries during 2024-25.

Panellists in Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom were asked to complete an online survey or paper questionnaire.

Getting ahead in life

Across the 11 countries, younger Europeans are generally more likely than older Europeans to believe that having wealthy parents is essential or important for getting ahead in life.

This generational gap is particularly pronounced in the United Kingdom, where 58.8% of respondents aged under 35 hold this view compared to 37.4% of those aged 35 and over. Smaller gaps were found in Austria and Iceland.

Almost half of Portuguese respondents were likely to think that coming from a wealthy family is essential or important to gaining an advantage in life.

In a few countries, such as the Czechia, Poland and Slovenia, older respondents were more likely to think family wealth plays a big role whilst in all other countries it was younger respondents who were more likely to think this.

The report states: "Overall, the results show that in most places younger generations feel that success depends more on the financial support a family can provide, perhaps reflecting wider concerns about rising living costs, housing affordability and limited opportunities for their generation's upward mobility."

Importance of inheritance

The proportion who believe that inheritance is essential or very important to accumulating wealth ranged from 23.7% in Finland to 47.9% in Austria.

And respondents were less likely to hold the view that leaving inheritance to heirs is essential or very important, ranging from 14.8% in Finland to just over a third of French respondents (36.2%).

Across countries, those aged under 35 years old rate inheritance as slightly more important than older respondents (35+).

Austrian respondents showed the highest percentage overall, with 55.2% of younger respondents and 45.7% of the older ones viewing inheritance as important for accumulating wealth.

The United Kingdom had the second highest share overall, with 47.8% for the younger and 42.7% for the older age group.

Those in Czechia and Portugal, reported lower levels, with around a quarter of respondents considering inheritance important for accumulating wealth.

Finland shows the largest age difference, with 36.5% among younger respondents and 20.3% among those aged over 35.

"Overall, the results show that in most places younger generations feel that success depends more on the financial support a family can provide."

Inheritance tax

There is widespread opposition to an inheritance tax in all 11 countries, with respondents somewhat or strongly against ranging from 51.7% in Finland to 74.5% in Belgium.

The analysis finds that female respondents, those who are likely to leave inheritance, or are supporters of right-wing political parties are less likely to support an inheritance tax.

Conversely, people who have received—or are likely to receive—inheritance, aged over 35 years old, or have a high level of education are more likely to support a tax on inheritance.

"[T]hese findings suggest that resistance is partly driven by affluent respondents seeking to protect their interests."

Wealth tax

Across all countries, respondents are more positive about a wealth tax, with support ranging from 30.7% in Poland to 60.4% in France.

The authors also considered opposition to a wealth tax by perceived level of wealth and income.

In Austria, Belgium, Iceland, Slovenia, Finland, Czechia, and the UK, the level of opposition to a wealth tax rises as perceived wealth increases.

A similar pattern emerges in most countries when assessing respondents by level of income.

"From a policy perspective, these findings point to the importance of communicating that wealth taxes primarily target the very wealthy, rather than high-income earners more broadly."

Read the report: Topline Results: European Attitudes to Wealth Inequality and Wealth Taxation

Provided by European Social Survey ERIC