The groups Patriotic Millionaires, Millionaires for Humanity and Tax Me Now issued an open letter to governments. “Tax us, the rich, now,” they said, according to Oxfam.
The declaration was published on the occasion of the World Economic Forum’s “Davos Agenda” series of events. A wealth tax on the richest could help reduce extreme inequality and fund basic social services like public health and education, Oxfam said.
The letter said the world had suffered greatly over the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic, while the richest have gotten richer and very few, if any, have paid adequate taxes.
progress in poverty reduction
The introduction of a wealth tax could make significant gains in poverty alleviation, vaccine equity in the fight against coronavirus and universal health coverage, according to Oxfam.
A new analysis, titled “Taxing Extreme Wealth,” shows that a wealth tax that starts at 2 percent a year for millionaires and rises to 5 percent a year for billionaires could generate $2.52 trillion a year worldwide. The analysis was therefore presented by the Fight Inequality Alliance together with the Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam and the Patriotic Millionaires.
This sum is enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, produce enough corona vaccines for the entire world population and ensure universal health care and social protection for 3.6 billion people in poorer countries.
The analysis also shows that 3.6 million people worldwide have assets of more than five million dollars. Accordingly, her total wealth is $75.3 trillion.
According to the information, the letter was signed by the US film producer and heiress Abigail Disney, the US entrepreneur and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer and the Austrian student and BASF heiress Marlene Engelhorn.
Source: Nachrichten
