A group of 83 millionaires called on Monday for immediate and permanent higher taxes on the world's wealthiest to help "heal the world."
The COVID-19 pandemic has officially impacted nearly 13 million people worldwide, resulting in over 570,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. It has triggered a historic global recession.
Economies ground to a halt for weeks, prompting governments to inject billions to revive them. The OECD projects a global GDP decline of at least 6% this year—or 7.6% if a second wave hits—with a 2021 rebound of 5.2% without resurgence or 2.8% with it.
Facing this crisis, 83 millionaires urge greater taxation of the ultra-wealthy: "As COVID-19 ravages the world, millionaires like us have a vital role in healing it," states an open letter ahead of the G20 finance ministers' meeting and EU recovery summit.
Signatories include Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield and filmmaker Richard Curtis, known for Notting Hill (1999) and Love Actually (2003). No French billionaires have joined yet.
“We are not the ones tending to the sick in intensive care, driving ambulances, restocking shelves, or delivering food,” writes the group, self-named Millionaires for Humanity, on their website.
“But we have money—lots of it. Governments need it now and for years to come to recover from a crisis whose impacts will last decades and could push half a billion into poverty.”
They implore: “Governments, raise taxes on people like us—immediately, substantially, and permanently.”
