2024-01-18 14:45:53
MONDE – At each edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, some of the richest people in the world call for higher taxes. Eh yes ! Believe it or not: the number of millionaires and billionaires wanting to pay more taxes continues to grow over the years! These privileged people affirm that this tax surplus “will not fundamentally modify [leur] standard of living” (phew) and urge their fellow human beings, “faced with the failures of governments, to repair injustices” (how nice). This new call comes at the right time, with the opening of the 54th edition of the Davos Forum during which participants are called to reflect on two themes: restoring trust and strengthening the fundamental principles of transparency. “Injustices” were once again denounced, on the eve of the start of this annual meeting of the “masters of the world”, by the NGO Oxfam, which underlines that three out of four billionaires wish to pay more taxes to reduce “obscene inequalities”. ”.
A bit of a demagogue? We will still be told that we have a bad mind.
In letter addressed to the leaders present in the Swiss station, made famous by good old Klaus Schwab, 250 signatories of an appeal to elected leaders ask to be taxed more. “We would be proud to pay more”, they declare (we are as proud as we can be). These rich business leaders, businessmen or heirs say they are “surprised” that their governments have not responded to this request (it is indeed beta). “When are we going to tax extreme wealth? If elected representatives of the world’s leading economies do not take action to combat the dramatic rise in economic inequality, the consequences will continue to be catastrophic for society,” they say. We would almost cry with them…
A Rockefeller and the Disney heiress among the signatories
Our socially conscious ultra-rich believe that their desire “is not radical” (phew), but a “demand for a return to normal, based on an assessment of current economic conditions”. They recall being those who “invest in startups, shape stock markets, grow businesses and promote sustainable economic growth”. But they also admit to “profiting from the status quo” while “inequality has reached crisis point” (the stock markets they invest in, perhaps?). The 250 signatories expressed their concern about the cost of these inequalities for “economic, societal and ecological stability”.
How can these kind billionaires calm their anxieties?
“Not only do we want to be taxed more, but we believe we must be taxed more,” they continue. “Pay more to fight inequalities, reduce the cost of living for workers” and participate in the establishment of “resilient health systems”, because “stagnant salaries, crumbling infrastructure, failing public services” have “destabilized the very institution of democracy”.
Among the great democrats ready to sacrifice, appear Abigail Disney, heiress to the famous entertainment group, Brian Cox, British actor, or even Valerie Rockefeller, heiress to the famous oil tycoon. Our new friends remind us that paying excess tax “will not fundamentally change [leur] standard of living” and “will not deprive [leurs] children” nor “will harm the economic growth of [leurs] nations”. We would have suspected it a little…
In Austria, a millionaire, Marlene Engelhorn, descendant of the founder of BASF, a German chemical giant (whose links with the Nazi regime will not be recalled here) and signatory of the appeal, announced her decision to redistribute her inheritance to protest against “the injustice of the taxation system”. “I inherited a fortune and with it power, without ever having done anything to deserve it. And the state doesn’t even want me to pay inheritance tax,” he said. she denounced. Poor little rich girl…
A 2% tax, applied to the 2,756 billionaires on the planet, would generate 250 billion dollars per year
This is not the first time that a call from millionaires and billionaires has been launched on the sidelines of the WEF. There were around a hundred two years ago, double that last year. These rich personalities also reiterated their request outside the annual meeting and according to Oxfam, an NGO which claims to fight against poverty, three millionaires out of four would agree to tax the wealth of the world’s greatest fortunes at a rate of 2%. Gabriel Zucman, director of the European Tax Observatory, affirmed in October 2023 that a tax of this height, applied to the 2,756 billionaires on the planet, would generate 250 billion dollars per year.
Among young millionaires, movements are emerging, such as “Tax Me Now” in Germany and Austria. In the United States, 250 people, including a former BlackRock executive, Morris Pearl, are united under the aegis of “Patriotic Millionaires” and are calling for a more equitable redistribution of wealth.
According to the Oxfam report, published Monday January 15 and entitled “Multinationals and multiple inequalities”, the fortune of the five richest men in the world increased, between 2020 and 2023, from 405 to 869 billion dollars. Fortune billionaires would have increased by 3,300 billion dollars during the same period, while the cumulative wealth and income of nearly five billion people around the world declined. This increase in fortune, the NGO explains by “the pressure on workers, whose wages increase less quickly than inflation”, as well as the fact of “avoiding taxes, privatizing the State and contributing greatly to global warming”.
Taxation of the richest in the world has been one of the most insistent demands for several years, pushing member countries of the OECD (Organization for Cooperation and Development) to apply, since January 1, a global minimum tax of 15 % on companies.
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