The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The 83 millionaires asking for more taxes for the wealthy to fight the coronavirus

2020-07-14T17:50:15.826Z


Among them are Abigail Disney, heir to the Disneyland empire, Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben and Jerry ice cream and Stephen Tindall, founder of Warehouse and New Zealand's richest man.


Maria Laura Avignolo

07/13/2020 - 16:10

  • Clarín.com
  • World

The world's 83 richest men and women call on their governments to "raise taxes permanently and immediately," on themselves and on all global elites, to help pay for economic recovery in the coronavirus crisis.

Abigail Disney , heiress to the Disneyland empire, Jerry Greenfield , co-founder of Ben and Jerry ice creams, Sir Stephen Tindall, founder of Warehouse and the wealthiest man in New Zealand, with a fortune of $ 475 million, the British director Richard Curtis, the Irish capitalist John O´Farrell , who made his millions in Silicon Valley, are some of the millionaires who have already signed the petition.

In an open letter and titled "Millionaires for humanity" , published this Monday in the British newspaper The Guardian , they consider that "millionaires like us have a role to heal our world. No, we were not the ones who cared for the sick in intensive care. We did not handle the ambulances that took the sick to hospitals. We were not replenishing supermarket shelves or taking food door to door. But we have money, a lot of money. Money that is desperately needed now and that will be needed in the years to come, when our world recovers from this crisis, ”they wrote.

Live Coronavirus cases

Argentina

The world

USA

Spain

Italy

Mexico

For them, “the impact of the crisis will take decades. It is going to push more people into poverty. Hundreds of millions of people will lose their jobs because their businesses will close , some permanently. There are now close to one million children outside of school, many without access to the resources they need to continue their learning. And of course the absence of hospital beds, masks and respirators is a painful, daily reminder of the inadequate investments made in the healthcare system around the world. ”

Humanitarian millionaires wrote their letter ahead of the start of the G20 finance ministers and central bank presidents meeting this week. They called on politicians to " face global inequality and recognize that increased wealth taxes and greater international tax transparency are essential to a viable long-term solution."

"The problem caused and revealed by the Covid 19 cannot be solved by charity , no matter how generous one is. Government leaders must take responsibility for raising funds that we need and spending them equitably, "they proposed.

What is Coronavirus? How is it spread and what are its symptoms?

Watch the special

"We have an immense debt to the people who worked on the front lines of this global battle. Most essential workers are grossly underpaid for the responsibility they carry, ”they said.

“At the forefront of this battle was our hospital staff, 70 percent are women. They confront the deadly virus on the job every day while facing most of the responsibility for their unpaid work at home. The risks of these courageous people who come out every day to take care of us require establishing a new, real commitment to each one and that is what really matters, "argued the millionaires.

“Our interconnection was never clearer. We must rebalance our world before it is too late . There will be no other possibility of doing it well, ”they warned.

"Unlike tens of millions of people around the world, we don't have to worry about losing our jobs, our homes, our ability to support our families. We are not fighting on the front line of this emergency and it is less possible that we will be victims, ”they described.

Please tax us. Tax us! .It is the right choice. It is the only choice. Humanity is more important than our money ”, asked the signatories.

Millionaires for Humanity is a project of Bridging Ventures, Club of Rome, Human Act, Oxfam International, Patriotic Millionaires and Tax Justice UK.

At least 83 hyper-rich have signed. But there are half a million billionaires in the world who can pay these taxes, without affecting their fortune. These "ultra rich" have a wealth of at least $ 30 million each and make up a larger group than the population of Malta, Iceland or Belize.

Billionaire Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man, has seen his fortune grow this year from $ 75 billion to $ 189 million. Your $ 100 million donation to fight Covid represents 0.1 percent of your estimated fortune.

In France and Britain there is talk of a tax on the wealthiest. Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said applying it to the kingdom's billionaires would aid in the recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

"We are saying to the government: look at this idea of ​​the wealth tax. We support the principle that those with the widest backs should bear the greatest burden, ”said Sir Keir Starmer.

So far on the list, no Latin American or Russian billionaires have signed.

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2020-07-14

You may like

Business 2024-03-17T05:17:29.829Z
News/Politics 2024-01-30T18:09:26.927Z
News/Politics 2024-03-10T16:28:39.404Z
News/Politics 2024-01-30T04:19:00.523Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.