In an unusual turn of events, a group of more than 100 of the world’s richest people has called on governments to make them pay more tax.
The group, named ‘The Patriotic Millionaires‘, in an open letter published on Wednesday, said the ultra-wealthy were not being forced to pay their share towards the global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
“As millionaires, we know that the current tax system is not fair,” they said in the letter signed by Disney heiress Abigail Disney and Nick Hanauer.
Mr. Hanauer is a US entrepreneur and an early investor in online retail giant Amazon.
They noted that while the world has gone through an immense amount of suffering in the last two years, they have seen their wealth rise during the pandemic. They stressed that few can honestly say that they pay their fair share in taxes.
In part, the letter reads, “This injustice baked into the foundation of the international tax system has created a colossal lack of trust between the people of the world and the elites who are the architects of this system. Bridging that divide is going to take more than billionaire vanity projects or piecemeal philanthropic gestures – it’s going to take a complete overhaul of a system that up until now has been deliberately designed to make the rich richer.”
The group further stated that to restore trust following a series of issues trailing the global tax system, it is imperative that the rich are properly taxed across the globe.
“To put it simply, restoring trust requires taxing the rich. The world – every country in it – must demand the rich pay their fair share. Tax us, the rich, and tax us now.
“The truth is that ‘Davos’ doesn’t deserve the world’s trust right now. For all the countless hours spent talking about making the world a better place, the conference has produced little tangible value amidst a torrent of self-congratulations. Until participants acknowledge the simple, effective solution staring them in the face – taxing the rich – the people of the world will continue to see their so-called dedication to fixing the world’s problems as little more than a performance”, the letter added.
Research by Credit Suisse revealed that in 2020, the number of millionaires increased by 5.2 million to a total of 56.1 million globally.