OK so it’s time to say the quiet part out loud: the reason that governments have so far held off on taxing billionaires at 1% or 2% is the fear that they might spend 2% or 3% against those governments in revenge.
I love these kinds of debates because it’s more or less an acknowledgement that none of these countries (including highly developed first world countries) are democratic and are instead either controlled or heavily influenced by the wealthy class and not by the common people.
You really could. They have a personal wealth that rivals some nations GDP. Paying almost every penny they make in profit to maintain that level of privilege is fine by me.
Billionaires, as a class, are likely already spending that much or more on lobbying for lower taxes. Or really lobbying for the status quo, since existing loopholes allow them to achieve an ultra low or even 0% effective tax with alarming regularity. The threat they make is wealth flight. “If you raise our taxes we’ll take all our wealth somewhere else!” As a result taxes on the ultrarich have essentially been a global race to the bottom for decades. At least now there finally seems to be some indications that wealth inequality cannot be ignored the way it has been for so long. My hope is that we’ll eventually see some international framework that effectively raise the tax floor for the 1%. It won’t cover every nation, but if it encompasses the EU, US, Commonwealth and other aligned countries then that would go a long way.
And what Billionaire wants to live in a shit-hole country? If governments are committed, they can find a way. Oh, you want to travel to the EU? What a shame that the visa process requires some transparency…
That’s exactly it. If affluent countries can get on the same page, they can neutralize the “wealth flight” argument and we can start shifting the balance back toward something that remotely resembles equality.
OK so it’s time to say the quiet part out loud: the reason that governments have so far held off on taxing billionaires at 1% or 2% is the fear that they might spend 2% or 3% against those governments in revenge.
I love these kinds of debates because it’s more or less an acknowledgement that none of these countries (including highly developed first world countries) are democratic and are instead either controlled or heavily influenced by the wealthy class and not by the common people.
Well, just tax them at 99%
Lots of problems solved…
You really could. They have a personal wealth that rivals some nations GDP. Paying almost every penny they make in profit to maintain that level of privilege is fine by me.
Curse them to a life of normal levels of phenomenal wealth! Justice! /s
I for one would be all for a wealth cap for all beings considered people
This would ALSO include companies if they want to continue with the being people thing
Billionaires, as a class, are likely already spending that much or more on lobbying for lower taxes. Or really lobbying for the status quo, since existing loopholes allow them to achieve an ultra low or even 0% effective tax with alarming regularity. The threat they make is wealth flight. “If you raise our taxes we’ll take all our wealth somewhere else!” As a result taxes on the ultrarich have essentially been a global race to the bottom for decades. At least now there finally seems to be some indications that wealth inequality cannot be ignored the way it has been for so long. My hope is that we’ll eventually see some international framework that effectively raise the tax floor for the 1%. It won’t cover every nation, but if it encompasses the EU, US, Commonwealth and other aligned countries then that would go a long way.
And what Billionaire wants to live in a shit-hole country? If governments are committed, they can find a way. Oh, you want to travel to the EU? What a shame that the visa process requires some transparency…
That’s exactly it. If affluent countries can get on the same page, they can neutralize the “wealth flight” argument and we can start shifting the balance back toward something that remotely resembles equality.
If you want to insure yourself against capital flight go for a Land Value Tax. Let 'em shove a hectare of land in their luggage.