Wealth taxes are increasingly being considered as an option in policy and academic circles to collect additional revenue and address inequality. One objection that is often raised, however, is that they seem to have failed in countries that tried them. Is that so and does that mean that wealth taxes should be abandoned as a policy tool? This paper gives an overview of OECD countries’ experiences with wealth taxes and explores the different factors that have led to their repeal in most countries. The paper also discusses whether the situation might be different today and what the implications for tax policy might be.