“Tax the rich” remained one of the most popular slogans in recent years to bridge the gap between the rich and poor, as over the years, people have shown frustration over very wealthy people and corporations not paying their fair share of taxes.
The same call was made on Wednesday (Jan 17) at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as more than 250 billionaires and millionaires demanded an introduction of wealth taxes to be paid for better public services worldwide.
In an open letter to world leaders, the wealthy people said: “We are surprised that you have failed to answer a simple question that we have been asking for three years: when will you tax extreme wealth?”
“Our request is simple: we ask you to tax us, the very richest in society,” added the letter, whose title is “Proud To Pay More”.
“This will not fundamentally alter our standard of living, nor deprive our children, nor harm our nation’s economic growth. But it will turn extreme and unproductive private wealth into an investment for our common democratic future,” it further read.
Those who signed the letter include, screenwriter Simon Pegg, Disney heir Abigail Disney, and Valerie Rockefeller, who is an heir to the famed US family.
As quoted by CNBC, Brian Cox, who is also a signatory, said: “Billionaires are wielding their extreme wealth to accumulate political power and influence, simultaneously undermining democracy and the global economy.”
“It’s long past time to act. If our elected officials refuse to address this concentration of money and power, the consequences will be dire,” said the actor, who played fictional billionaire Logan Roy in “Succession”.
Oxfam report on the world’s five richest men
The calls for “tax the rich” come a few days after the charity Oxfam revealed that the world’s wealthiest five men have more than doubled their fortune since 2020. It urged the nations to resist the ultra-rich’s influence over tax policy.
A report, published at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, said their wealth rose from $405 billion in 2020 to $869 billion last year.
Oxfam said that yet since 2020, nearly five billion people worldwide have grown poorer.
Billionaires are today $3.3 trillion richer than they were in 2020, despite many crises devastating the world’s economy since this decade began, including the Covid pandemic.
(With inputs from agencies)
