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this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2024
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OK so it's time to say the quiet part out loud: the reason that governments have so far held off on taxing billionaires at 1% or 2% is the fear that they might spend 2% or 3% against those governments in revenge.
Billionaires, as a class, are likely already spending that much or more on lobbying for lower taxes. Or really lobbying for the status quo, since existing loopholes allow them to achieve an ultra low or even 0% effective tax with alarming regularity. The threat they make is wealth flight. "If you raise our taxes we'll take all our wealth somewhere else!" As a result taxes on the ultrarich have essentially been a global race to the bottom for decades. At least now there finally seems to be some indications that wealth inequality cannot be ignored the way it has been for so long. My hope is that we'll eventually see some international framework that effectively raise the tax floor for the 1%. It won't cover every nation, but if it encompasses the EU, US, Commonwealth and other aligned countries then that would go a long way.
If you want to insure yourself against capital flight go for a Land Value Tax. Let 'em shove a hectare of land in their luggage.
Georgism was rejected as unworkable in Victorian times. What has changed to make it workable now?