For millionaires who want to pay taxes

The rich finally want to be taxed. And they want it done properly and as soon as possible. At least that’s what several very rich personalities are demanding.

The poor of this world can rejoice. And so can the middle classes. And even more so the governments. Because the rich finally want to be taxed. And they want it done properly and as soon as possible. At least, that’s the demand of several very wealthy individuals who have joined together to form networks: the „Patriotic Millionaires,“ the „Millionaires for Humanity“ and „Tax Me Now”.
Similar to cries for help that are usually only heard from aid organizations and charities, they are addressing their peers in an open letter entitled „In Tax We Trust“ at the WEF these days, asking for support for their cause so that politicians will finally take these on.

Public pressure

They are aggravated by growing inequalities, especially after Co-vid. To justify their cause, they refer to the World Inequality Report, international and country-specific statistics, and the latest report by the Oxfam aid organization, which gained traction under the title „Inequality Kills”. On web platforms, they introduce themselves with their names, they communicate the values to which they have committed themselves, they post relevant information and articles, and they finance campaigns. They want to build public pressure.

I ask myself: Will they achieve the effect they want? And above all, is this the only thing they can do? In other words, are they using their resources – especially their financial resources – efficiently and effectively? After all, those who can spend money (instead of having to laboriously acquire and collect it) have a very direct lever: money.
A lot can be done with money – and even more can be done with a lot of money. More so than with campaign-like communication of goals, values and concerns. With money, projects can be tackled seriously and properly. This requires qualified people who can analyze the situation properly and formulate feasible solutions.

It takes time to establish the necessary contacts, to initiate projects and to change the structures – time in which one can devote oneself entirely to this task and not have look for other sources of income. It takes a basic infrastructure from which to work efficiently. And it takes money to get all those projects and initiatives that serve similar causes and are already there but lack the resources, to become effectualised.

Without consultants, without bureaucracy, without a foundation
In principle, MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is leading the way. She distributes money, lots of money: to organizations whose concerns she shares and whom she trusts to do the right thing with this money. Without consultants, without controllers, without bureaucracy. She hasn’t even set up a foundation because she doesn’t want to bother with the numerous regulations. So what could the millionaires who would like to be taxed do?

First, following the example of MacKenzie Scott, they could directly fund projects, organizations and structures to solve those problems that they are concerned about. Then, they could fund or establish organizational units that address their concerns at the highest technical and political levels and implement them in a globally coordinated manner. These would be located at or immediately within those international political institutions that are responsible for international taxation. These include the G-20, the OECD and the EU. With the global minimum tax for companies initiated last year, they have shown that they can move quickly if necessary. They would hardly resist such a project.

Proof of the seriousness of the issue

In principle – and this would be the real proof of the seriousness of the issue – the committed millionaires could simply pay taxes, if not compulsorily then voluntarily.

And that would mean simply transferring the percentage at which they want to be taxed to the state in which they live, annually and without much fuss – until the law requires them to do so. Basically, they would have to do what all the other taxpayers do: turn in at the end of the year what the state demands.

Because that is what paying taxes means: handing over the money to the governments so that they can do what they think is right and what they were elected to do. That would be in the spirit of their letter: they trust that taxes are the right thing to do.