Written by: Katie Scott, Business Reporter
Higher taxes to bridge the widening gap between the rich and poor are being demanded by an international group of millionaires.
They took to the streets of Davos where the World Economic Forum is currently taking place holding signs including a placard saying “In Tax We Trust”.
Phil White, a former business consultant and member of Patriotic Millionaires UK, told the press: “While the rest of the world is collapsing under the weight of an economic crisis, billionaires and world leaders meet in this private compound to discuss turning points in history.
“It’s outrageous that our political leaders listen to those who have the most, know the least about the economic impact of this crisis, and many of whom pay infamously little in taxes. The only credible outcome from this conference is to tax the richest and tax us now. Tax the delegates attending Davos 2022.”
White was amongst the signatories of an Open Letter published in January. It stated: “According to new analysis by the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam and the Patriotic Millionaires, a wealth tax starting at just two percent annually for those with more than $5 million, three percent for those with over $50 million, and rising to five percent annually for billionaires could generate $2.52 trillion a year. Taxing the UK’s wealthiest 119,000 people at these rates would raise £43.71 billion a year…”.
Another letter - written by 30 UK millionaires - was sent in October 2021 to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, calling for a wealth tax.
Djaffar Shalchi, a Danish multimillionaire engineer and property developer, told The Guardian from Davos: “You don’t win people’s trust by holding events like Davos, where the world’s rich and powerful meet behind layers of security. The most significant thing Davos participants could do to actually win people’s trust is to acknowledge that the wealth and privilege they represent and protect, is incompatible with a world where everyone can live full and prosperous lives.”
