The great income and wealth inequalities within the EU but also globally is the most important economic and social challenge for the 21^st century and should be addressed by taking appropriate measures at national level, with support actions at European level. Our article aims to reflect that attention must also be paid to wealth inequalities. We propose to present the reasons for these inequalities and the factors that determine them and to analyse several political decisions taken to address them. The hypothesis launched in debate by this article states that the most important instrument at the disposal of the Member States to promote the fair distribution of value added, for the society as a whole, is fiscal policy and the active labor market policies, that contribute to facilitate the transition between education, training and professional life, should occupy a central place, next to policies governing taxation and social transfers.