A group of 83 of the world’s richest people have called on governments to permanently raise taxes on themselves and other members of the wealthy elite to help pay for the economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.
The super wealthy members, including ice cream co-founder Ben and Jerry’s Jerry Greenfield and Disney heir Abigail Disney, called on “our governments to raise taxes on people like us. Immediately. Substantially. Permanently.”
“When Covid-19 attacks the world, millionaires like us have a critical role to play in healing our world,” millionaires said in a letter shared with The Guardian. “No, we are not the ones who care for the sick in the intensive care rooms. We are not driving the ambulances that will take the sick to the hospitals. We are not restocking grocery store shelves or delivering door-to-door food.
“But we have money, a lot of money. Money that is desperately needed now and will continue to be needed for years to come, as our world recovers from this crisis. “
The group warned that the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis “will last for decades” and could “push an additional 500 million people into poverty.”
Among those who added their names to the letter are Sir Stephen Tindall, the founder of the Warehouse Group and the second richest man in New Zealand with a fortune of $ 475 million (£ 370 million); British screenwriter and director Richard Curtis; and Irish venture capitalist John O’Farrell, who made millions by investing in Silicon Valley tech companies.
“The problems caused and revealed by Covid-19 cannot be solved with charity, no matter how generous they are. Government leaders must take responsibility for raising the funds we need and spending them fairly, ”the letter says. “We have a huge debt to the people who work on the front lines of this global battle. Most essential workers are very poorly paid for the load they carry. ”
The group released the letter ahead of this weekend’s meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors. They called on politicians to “address global inequality and recognize that tax increases on the wealthy and greater international tax transparency are essential to a viable long-term solution.”
The number of super wealthy people continues to grow despite the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis and global blockades. Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person and founder of Amazon, has seen his fortune grow by $ 75 billion so far this year to a record $ 189 billion.
There are over 500,000 people in the world classified as “ultra-wealthy” with fortunes of more than $ 30 million (£ 26.5 million). That means that there are more very wealthy people around the world than the populations of Iceland, Malta or Belize.
There have been repeated calls for the super rich to contribute more after the Covid-19 crisis. Critics have pointed out that while Bezos has donated $ 100 million, he represents less than 0.1% of his estimated fortune.
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In the UK, the Labor Party has asked the government to consider introducing a wealth tax on the wealthiest members of society to help finance the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Keir Starmer, the Labor leader, said this month: “We are saying to the government, look at the idea of a wealth tax, we certainly support the principle that those with broader shoulders should bear the greatest burden.”
In Norway, around 500,000 people pay a 0.85% charge on their assets above the value of around £ 126,000.
The millionaires letter was organized by Patriotic Millionaires, Oxfam, Human Act, Tax Justice UK, Club of Rome, Resource Justice and Bridging Ventures.
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