[HN Gopher] Millionaires at Davos say 'tax us more'
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Millionaires at Davos say 'tax us more'
Author : belter
Score : 12 points
Date : 2022-05-23 21:16 UTC (1 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.bbc.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.bbc.com)
| codefreeordie wrote:
| They do say this -- often. But, efforts to tax them always end up
| mostly targeting the rank of people below them on the hierarchy.
| The Davos set have enough wealth and power to be able to avoid
| all the taxes -- but the up-and-comers who would replace them
| generally _don 't_.
| somethoughts wrote:
| Davos should have an award celebration for the attendee that
| paid the most taxes to their own government. It can be opt-in
| if privacy is a concern.
|
| Kind of like a Forbes 500 Richest list but instead of
| celebrating an often ficticious net worth metric - it should
| celebrate patriotic contributions made via just paying taxes.
| codefreeordie wrote:
| That would be a reasonable thing to do if the Davos set
| actually wanted to pay more taxes.
|
| But, then, the U.S. Treasury accepts donations to the general
| fund, if you feel your taxes are too low. Your contribution
| is even tax-deductible.
|
| The drumbeat of "raise millionaire taxes" from the Davos set
| is mostly about maintaining _themselves_ as the mostly-
| hereditary global elite and minimizing the rise of newcomers
| by taxing them enough that they can 't rise to the lofty
| heights.
| somethoughts wrote:
| I agree with your skepticism about Davos and it being about
| "thought leadership" and a vanity virtue signaling game.
|
| I think the case for making an award for patriotically
| contributing the highest taxes is that for the most part
| paying taxes is done privately and is therefore rewardless
| for the contributor. And then you (as the contributor) see
| on the flip side - politicians rewarded for boosting taxes
| and praised for legally taking from you.
|
| Celebrating tax contributions and rewarding the contributor
| (on an opt in basis) could be hugely beneficial for certain
| types of wealthy individuals. Often times wealthy people
| enjoy being on these lists as it helps their business, PR,
| etc. - not to mention just plain vanity.
|
| Since its for the most part audit-able, it isn't as easily
| gamed (unlike net worth) and can't just be empty virtue
| signalling.
|
| I think it would lead to healthier discourse as the tax
| contributor would be in a public position to effectively be
| saying - of all the philanthropic causes I could support, I
| am purposely choosing to give up that right and instead
| contribute it via taxes to my country because I believe in
| its people to vote intelligently and the elected
| politicians to act in the best interests of those people.
| codefreeordie wrote:
| I somewhat support this idea. I think it will not work --
| none of the right people will join the list, because I
| think they actually don't care at all, but it probably
| won't make anything worse, and might help shine a light
| on their hypocrisy maybe.
| somethoughts wrote:
| My hunch is you could probably get a critical mass of
| folks in the Forbes 490 to 1000 Richest range that'd love
| to be on some sort of list since they didn't make the
| Forbes 500 cut.
|
| Particularly if it was published in conjunction with a
| major publication that loves rankings (i.e. US News,
| Fortune, etc.).
|
| A bit about the group discussed[1] - and interesting
| interview with one of founders[2].
|
| [1] https://patrioticmillionaires.org/who-we-are/ -
| George Zimmer of the Men's Wearhouse is an advisor.
|
| [2] Millionaire argues for Higher Taxes, Fox Host Throws
| Temper Tantrum!
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agHkrhws5Lo
| ipspam wrote:
| There isn't enough money in millionaires and billionaires. That's
| why they shout "Tax the Rich", because they don't care, and just
| want to tax the middle class with VAT and income tax etc.
|
| They want control, and they want to spend YOUR money.
|
| Oh hey! Here is a pencil, you can have it! Can I have your
| sandwich in return?
| james-redwood wrote:
| Billionaires need to be taxed more, not just millionaires.
| Therein lies the rub.
| stevenalowe wrote:
| "Posers" as the kids might say.
|
| Y'all feel free to donate your millions to the government why
| wait for tax laws?
| bergenty wrote:
| So it applies to tens of thousands of people, not just the few
| brave enough to take up a stance.
| stevenalowe wrote:
| Another idea so good it has to be enforced by law, eh?
| toomuchtodo wrote:
| Taxes have to be, yes, because humans can be freeloaders,
| especially the wealthiest.
|
| If only the decent participate, it is ineffective.
| bergenty wrote:
| Absolutely, very few people are going to willingly pay
| money. What reality are you living in?
| timcavel wrote:
| throwawaylinux wrote:
| Wow, these wonderful virtuous billionaires. After this stunning
| act of selflessness it's clear now that _they_ aren 't the
| problem, it's the middle class that's the problem.
| Geonode wrote:
| Lowly millionaires? They can't get in the door at Davos.
| tomohawk wrote:
| There's nothing stopping them from donating their money right
| now.
|
| Since they haven't done that, it seems like they're disengenously
| trying to say or do something else.
| proc0 wrote:
| Nah, they want more power. If these people were ok with disposing
| of their money in a generous way, they wouldn't have accumulated
| such wealth to begin with. Nobody stopping them from donating or
| funding companies with actual solutions.
|
| It's alarming how people are increasingly calling for more
| government solutions, when they're literally non-experts who need
| everyone else to do the actual solutioning.
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