More than 130 MEPs have signed a petition in favor of the creation of a wealth tax for « ultra-riches » internationally to participate in “ecological and social transition”.
“What we have succeeded in achieving for multinationals, we must now do for the very wealthy”write, in a column published in ” the world “Aurore Lalucq (Socialists and Democrats group, left) and the economist Gabriel Zucman, at the initiative of this campaign.
The sequel after the ad
“Our proposal is simple: introduce a progressive tax on the wealth of the ultra-rich on an international scale in order to reduce inequalities while participating in the financing of the investments necessary for the ecological and social transition”explain the MEP and the economist, a recognized expert on tax evasion and the taxation of high incomes.
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A tax whose amount would be decided “democratically”
The authors mention the idea of taxation at 1.5% from a heritage of 50 million euros, while affirming that the exact level of the tax will have to be decided “collectively and democratically”. Aurore Lalucq and Gabriel Zucman call on the OECD and the UN to launch negotiations on this tax, and urge the European Union to act.
They claim that in 2018, Elon Musk, then the second richest man in the world, “didn’t pay a dime in federal taxes” and that in France, “the 370 richest families are actually only taxed around 2 to 3%”.
“For an ecological and social big bang”
Their petition was signed mainly by environmentalist and leftist MEPs, by a dozen economists and by international NGOs including Oxfam.
To support their remarks, Aurore Lalucq and Gabriel Zucman cite the example of the minimum tax of 15% on the profits of multinationals, to which nearly 140 countries have adhered. “when everyone kept saying it was impossible”.
