【Text/Observer Network Zhou Yibo】
According to the British "Guardian" news, on January 19, local time, 102 super-rich people from all over the world jointly appealed to governments around the world to "tax us now" to help pay for the epidemic response and solve the gap between the rich and the poor.
The group of billionaires called the Patriotic Millionaires, is a nonpartisan organization of American billionaires who seek to push for a restructuring of the U.S. tax system so that the rich pay a larger share of their income.
They said that the current tax systems of countries around the world are manipulated to their advantage, so the tax system needs to be revised to make taxation fairer to hard-working people and restore people's trust in politics.
According to the group's initiative, people with assets over $5 million should pay a 2 percent "wealth tax," while those with assets over $50 million should pay 3 percent and billionaires pay 5 percent. If the UK were to be taxed in this way, it would add £43.7 billion (about 377.471 billion yuan) of revenue per year.
Screenshot of the Guardian report
The 102 super-rich people from the Patriotic Millionaires group reportedly released the open letter at the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 19
In the open letter, they called for "a permanent wealth tax on the wealthiest to help reduce extreme inequality and increase incomes for sustained, long-term growth in public services such as health care."
"As millionaires, we know that the current tax system is unfair." "Most of us can say that while the world has experienced tremendous pain over the past two years and we've actually seen our wealth grow during the pandemic, almost no one can honestly say that our taxes are fair," the letter said. ”
The letter also said that if the government wants to restore trust, it must tax the rich, and "the world — every country in the world — must demand that the rich pay their fair share." Tax us now, to us, to us. ”
According to the letter, people with assets of more than $5 million should pay a 2 percent "wealth tax," while those with assets over $50 million should pay 3 percent and billionaires should pay 5 percent.
According to an analysis by the international NGO Fight Inequality Alliance, the US think tank Institute for Policy Studies, the international NGO Oxfam and the Patriotic Millionaires, a tax on Britain's richest 119,000 people at this rate would add an estimated £43.7 billion a year.
British entrepreneur Gemma McGough, one of the signatories of the open letter, said that at a time when "living in the simplicity of an ordinary family" would cost an extra £1,200 a year, our government would not expect to be trusted if it would rather tax working people than the rich. ”
"If they plan to do something about it in the coming months, they should do it: instead of raising national insurance, tax the rich — tax us — instead of (working people)."
It has been calculated that if this "wealth tax" were to be imposed in the UK, it would be enough to pay the health and social care tax twice a year on the basis of "not raising national insurance for working people", pay the salaries of an additional 50,000 new nurses, and build 35,000 affordable housing units.
One of the signatories of the open letter, British entrepreneur Gemma McGough
In addition, Nick Hanor, an American venture capitalist and one of the signatories of the open letter, said that if the above -- "wealth tax" is levied on all people with more than $5 million a year, it may raise more than $2.52 trillion (about 15.99 trillion yuan).
The letter notes that a $2.52 trillion annual "wealth tax" is enough to "lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, produce enough vaccines for the world, and provide universal health care and social protection for all citizens of low- and middle-income countries (3.6 billion people)."
Jenny Rex, global convener of the Anti-Inequality Coalition, reportedly said, "The incredible reality is that billions of people are struggling to survive every day during this pandemic, and the wealth of billionaires is spiraling out of control." ”
"This is not true, the multiple crises we face, from vaccine inequality to climate collapse, have had a serious impact on people's lives, and this impact has not diminished." Over the years, the World Economic Forum has shown us that elites cannot and will not end the virus of inequality by helping to create and accumulate their own wealth. ”
According to the previous statistics of forbes magazine, in the 2021 list of the 400 richest people in the United States, the total wealth of the rich has increased by 40% from $3.2 trillion last year to $4.5 trillion, and almost all of them are richer than a year ago. The total assets of the top 20 reached a "stunning" $1.8 trillion.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.