In Open Letter, 100 Millionaires Make Unusual Plea: "Tax Us Now"
NDTV
Their plea follows a report by global charity Oxfam this week which said that the world's 10 wealthiest men doubled their fortunes to $1.5 trillion during the first two years of the pandemic while inequality and poverty soared.
More than 100 millionaires made an unusual plea on Wednesday: "Tax us now". The wealth of the 10 richest men has doubled, while the incomes of 99% of humanity are worse off because of COVID19.That's a rate of $15,000 per second or $1.3 billion a day.We desperate need a #WealthTax now. pic.twitter.com/FMoOp0a7qC
Their appeal came as a study backed by wealthy individuals and nonprofits found that a wealth tax on the world's richest people could raise $2.52 trillion per year -- enough to pay for Covid vaccines for everyone and pull 2.3 billion people out of poverty.
In an open letter to the World Economic Forum's online Davos meeting, 102 millionaires, including Disney heiress Abigail Disney, said the current tax system is unfair and "deliberately designed to make the rich richer".
"The world -- every country in it -- must demand the rich pay their fair share," the letter says. "Tax us, the rich, and tax us now."
