Walt Disney Co. heiress Abigail Disney and more than 80 wealthy people have signed an open letter asking the United States and other countries to raise taxes on the wealthy “immediately” and “permanently” to pay for the aid needed to help poorer citizens overcome the problem. coronavirus pandemic.
“The problems caused and revealed by Covid-19 cannot be solved with charity, no matter how generous,” the group, called Millionaires for Humanity, said in a letter. “Government leaders must take responsibility for raising the funds we need and spending them fairly.”
His solution: “Tax us. Tax us. Tax us. It is the right choice. It is the only option.”
The letter comes when the US and other countries offer direct financial aid and implement other tax measures to help workers who have lost their jobs and businesses that were closed by the coronavirus. Although millions of American workers have been rehired as companies reopened in recent weeks, unemployment stood at 11.1% in June – more than one percentage point higher than the maximum unemployment rate during the Great Recession.
With an additional $ 600 in weekly unemployment benefits ending the week of July 25, up to 23 million American families face the risk of eviction if they cannot pay the rent. Hunger is also on the rise, with US food banks reporting unprecedented demand. Worldwide, 500 million people could be pushed into poverty by the coronavirus crisis, according to the anti-poverty group Oxfam.
Among the other notable people who signed the open letter are former BlackRock managing director Morris Pearl, film director Amy Ziering, Disney heir Tim Disney, “Four Weddings and Funeral” director Richard Curtis, the capitalist of risk William Janeway and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream co-Founder Jerry Greenfield.
“Richer than before the pandemic”
Pearl said the effort to raise taxes on the wealthy reflects concern that “the current system is unsustainable.”
“Having a few rich people and many poor people will not work in the long term,” Pearl told CBS MoneyWatch. “It may be fun to make more millions this month or next, but in the long run I want my children and grandchildren to have the opportunities I had, and they won’t be able to do it if we don’t change course.” “
Pearl added that her wealth has grown during the pandemic, thanks to gains in the stock market. But millions of people in the United States and in other countries do not have the same benefit.
“I am richer than I was before the pandemic, and I don’t even work to live,” he said. With the loss of jobs in the pandemic, “there are millions of people who cannot earn anything, they do not have earnings from a stock portfolio.”
Tax cuts for the wealthy
The millionaires statement comes two years after the Tax and Job Reduction Act went into effect, which lowered corporate taxes in the United States and also provided generous cuts to many wealthy Americans. The middle class saw Less profit than the wealthy, the Congressional Budget Office said last year.
As a result, the 400 wealthiest families in the US now pay a lower overall tax rate than the middle class, the first time in 100 years, according to an analysis published last year by economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman. . In comparison, in 1970 wealthier Americans paid more than 50% of their income in taxes, double that of working-class individuals.
While the Patriotic Millionaires and Millionaires for Humanity are not publishing a specific target for the tax rate they would like to see for the ultra-wealthy, Pearl noted the previous decades when the tax rates for the highest earners were much higher, however , companies and individuals still built wealth.
“Unlike tens of millions of people worldwide, we do not have to worry about losing our jobs, our homes, or our ability to support our families,” the letter noted. “We are not fighting on the front lines of this emergency and we are much less likely to be its victims.”
The Millionaires for Humanity effort is linked to a group that for years has advocated for higher taxes on wealthy and patriotic millionaires. The most visible member of the latter group has been Abigail Disney, who last year drew attention for her position on the highest wages for Disney workers.
Disney has discussed that workers cleaning the toilets at the company’s theme parks shouldn’t have a hard time earning a living when then-Disney CEO Robert Iger took home $ 64 million in 2018. In his opinion, Iger’s salary It was “crazy,” while workers said they couldn’t make ends meet.
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