The world’s rich continue to be the subject of debate on the grounds that they do not pay taxes according to their income or wealth lately. While only some well-known rich people have announced that they will support this system regarding the increase of taxes on wealthy people, great news came from the wealthy today.
As the World Economic Forum, known as the Davos Summit, started the other day, an open letter was published. The open letter, titled ‘Attention Davos Participants: We Trust in Taxes’, argued that the tax on all wealthy people like themselves should be increased.
“The foundation of a strong democracy is a fair tax system”
The letter was published as part of the In Tax We Trust campaign, created by the organizations Patriotic Millionaires, Millionaires for Humanity and TAX ME NOW. The letter, in which it was stated that the tax on the rich should be increased in order to reduce income inequality, was as follows:
“To our millionaire and billionaire brothers,
If you are attending the World Economic Forum’s ‘Davos online’ this January, you will join a special group that seeks to answer the question behind this year’s theme, ‘How do we work together and restore trust?’
You won’t find the answer in a private forum surrounded by other millionaires, billionaires and the most powerful people in the world. If you pay attention, you will see that you are part of the problem.
Trust – in politics, in society, in each other – is not built in small side rooms accessible only to the richest and most powerful. The trust wasn’t built by billionaire space travelers who made a fortune from the pandemic but paid almost nothing in taxes and provided low wages to their employees. Trust is built through accountability through properly functioning, fair and open democracies that deliver good services and support all their citizens.
The foundation of a strong democracy is a fair tax system. A fair tax system.
As millionaires, we know that the current tax system is unfair. Most of us can say that while the world has suffered a tremendous amount over the past two years, we have actually seen our wealth increase during the pandemic – but none of us can honestly say that we have paid our fair share of taxes.
This injustice on the basis of the international tax system has created a great lack of trust between the peoples of the world and the elites who are the architects of this system. It will take more than billionaire vanity projects or piecemeal philanthropic gestures to bridge this gap – a system that has hitherto been consciously designed to make the rich richer will need to be completely overhauled.
Simply put, restoring trust requires taxing the rich. The world – every country in it – must demand that the rich pay their share. Tax the rich and tax them now.
The truth is that ‘Davos’ does not deserve the trust of the world right now. Despite countless hours spent making the world a better place, the conference produced little tangible value amid a flood of self-congratulations. The people of the world will continue to see their alleged commitment to solving the world’s problems as little more than a performance until participants accept the simple and effective solution they come across – taxing the rich.
History paints a rather bleak picture of what the end of highly unequal societies looks like. For all our well-being – rich and poor – it’s time to face inequality and choose to tax the rich. Show the people of the world that you deserve their trust.
If you do not, then all private conversations will not change what will happen – taxes or pitchforks. Let’s listen to history and choose wisely. ”
This letter, written above, was shared with the signatures of 102 millionaires and billionaires and continues to collect signatures from everyone.
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