‘Tax us’: Billionaires’ bizarre request at World Economic Forum in Davos
By Chloe Whelan
Posted on April 23, 2024 by Steve Beckow
Michael once said to me that we’d know that real movement is occurring when the super-rich begin to return some of their wealth voluntarily.
(No “Poof” column this week.) Thanks to Ed.
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250 of the world’s rich listers have asked to be taxed more, with one young heiress saying she wants to escape the “swamp” of her huge wealth.
Many millionaires and billionaires are infamous for moving their wealth around to skirt taxes, but a small group has set out to do the opposite.
More than 250 of the world’s extremely wealthy have penned a letter to governments, asking to be taxed more because they’re concerned by inequality.
The rich listers made their plea to political elite at a meeting for the World Economic Forum — an international NGO aimed at improving public-private sector collaboration — in Davos, Switzerland this week.
“Our request is simple: we ask you to tax us, the very richest in society,” they wrote.
“This will not fundamentally alter our standard of living, nor deprive our children, nor harm our nations’ economic growth.
“But it will turn extreme and unproductive private wealth into an investment for our common democratic future.”
