First we had Warren Buffett declaring in The New York Times that he and his friends had been “coddled long enough”. Then Liliane Bettencourt, France’s richest woman, signed a letter along with 15 other billionaires “begging to make a special contribution to the Treasury”, says Helen Pidd in The Guardian. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has now announced a temporary 3% tax on those earning more than $500,000. Spain is considering reintroducing its wealth tax and a group of 50 rich Germans, The Wealthy For A Capital Levy, has renewed its call to Angela Merkel to do the same. Even the Italian boss of Ferrari has “got in on the act”, saying it is only “right” that he stump up more cash (provided the government implement neoliberal reforms).
So does Buffett have a point? He does, says Oliver Kamm in The Times. Britain should take note. Modest tax increases on the very wealthy would be fair. Besides, “there is no consistent pattern in the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development economies to support the notion that low taxes on the wealthy boost enterprise”, and countries with higher marginal rates than Britain have prospered over the medium term and withstood global recession. There are many anecdotes about high taxes driving wealth abroad, but little evidence.
At least rich Americans seem to feel, like Andrew Carnegie, that “huge fortunes that flow in large part from society should in large part be returned to society”, says Alexander Chancellor in The Guardian. The British plutocracy, who have remained conspicuously silent, tend to be more disconnected. They’re probably safe for the time being, says Pidd. George Osborne said in his March budget that the 50p rate would inflict lasting damage on the economy if it became permanent. It is “more likely to be scrapped in a few years’ time rather than be raised”.