Brasilia:
Former presidents and prime ministers have penned an open letter to the current leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies urging them to support a global tax on billionaires, in what they call a rare political opportunity.
The move comes as Brazil, which presented the proposal in February, is seeking to rally support for the declaration when G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meet in Rio de Janeiro later this month.
The letter, signed by 19 members of the Madrid Club, a forum of more than 100 former leaders, praised U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposal for a billionaires’ income tax but called for joint cooperation to combat tax evasion by the wealthy.
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“A global agreement to tax the super-rich would demonstrate that governments can come together for the common good and would give impetus to multilateralism,” the letter said.
Signatories come from across the political spectrum, including Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Sweden’s Stefan Löfven, Spain’s Felipe Gonzalez and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, France’s Dominique de Villepin, Canada’s Kim Campbell, Australia’s Julia Gillard and South Korea’s Han Seung-soo.
Brazil’s proposal, drafted by French economist Gabriel Zucman, who represents the EU’s independent tax watchdog, calls for an annual 2% tax on wealth above $1 billion, which could collect up to $250 billion a year from around 3,000 individuals.
A statement from the G7’s most recent meeting in June said the group would continue to work with Brazil, the G20 presidency, to strengthen international cooperation and efforts towards progressive and fair taxation of individuals, but some countries have already voiced objections.
In May, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said his country was very skeptical of any new elements of a global tax agenda, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States could not support negotiations that included the redistribution of revenue between countries.
France, Spain, Colombia, Belgium, the African Union and South Africa, which will hold the G20 presidency next year, have already endorsed the initiative.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
