tax

German Millionaires Support Democracy

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Remember those super rich folk from the USA who decided to donate half their money? Well, that’s not the German way – and for good reason!

In an interview with Der Spiegel, a German millionaire explains why he thinks it’s best for the state to decide where money should be spent in a democracy.

SPIEGEL: Forty super wealthy Americans have just announced that they would donate half of their assets, at the very latest after their deaths. As a person who often likes to say that rich people should be asked to contribute more to society, what were your first thoughts?

Krämer: I find the US initiative highly problematic. You can write donations off in your taxes to a large degree in the USA. So the rich make a choice: Would I rather donate or pay taxes? The donors are taking the place of the state. That’s unacceptable.

SPIEGEL: But doesn’t the money that is donated serve the common good?

Krämer: It is all just a bad transfer of power from the state to billionaires. So it’s not the state that determines what is good for the people, but rather the rich want to decide. That’s a development that I find really bad. What legitimacy do these people have to decide where massive sums of money will flow?

SPIEGEL: It is their money at the end of the day.

Krämer: In this case, 40 superwealthy people want to decide what their money will be used for. That runs counter to the democratically legitimate state. In the end the billionaires are indulging in hobbies that might be in the common good, but are very personal.

Read the rest on Spiegel Online.

The Robin Hood Tax

- Adam Clare

In the UK there’s a movement to tax the banks on their transactions at a very tiny amount and using the increased revenue to help the poor and the environment.

You can watch the video below and check out the Robin Hood tax site.

Here’s how it works:

The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax on banks, hedge funds and other finance institutions that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad.

It can start as low as 0.005 per cent – and average 0.05 per cent . But when levied on the billions of pounds sloshing round the global finance system every day through transactions such as foreign exchange, derivatives trading and share deals, it can raise hundreds of billions of pounds every year.

And while international agreement is best, it can start right now, right here in the UK.

That can help stop cuts in crucial public services in the UK, and aid the fight against global poverty and climate change.

Thanks to Greg for sending this in!

New German Government: USA nukes to GTFO, Rich want to tax themselves

- Adam Clare

The new German government has begun a process of asking the American government to take their nukes out of Germany.

Time has the scoop

“We want the last nuclear weapons that are stationed in Germany to be taken away,” Westerwelle said at the conclusion of the coalition talks on Saturday. The U.S. doesn’t disclose the exact number of nuclear warheads it still keeps in Germany, a legacy of its Cold War policy that dates back to the 1950s, and which made western Germany the frontline of its Soviet containment strategy. But German sources estimate there could be as many as 20 nukes still in the country.

Germany has also changed some of its taxation policies to help get through the global economic hilarity, but the rich are arguing that their taxes should be raised.

The BBC knows what to say about this.

A group of rich Germans has launched a petition calling for the government to make wealthy people pay higher taxes.
The group say they have more money than they need, and the extra revenue could fund economic and social programmes to aid Germany’s economic recovery.
Germany could raise 100bn euros (£91bn) if the richest people paid a 5% wealth tax for two years, they say.

Taxes Are Good

- Adam Clare 3 Comments

I don’t know anybody enjoys paying taxes but I know of a lot people who enjoy using what our taxes pay for. Roads, drinkable water, and many other things we use everyday are provided to us from the government (at least in Canada) and these services cost money. A recent Canadian study has done the math and found that in 2006 the average per capita benefit from public services was about $16,952!

Believe it or not taxes are good for you.

The majority of Canadian households enjoy a higher quality of life because of the public services their taxes fund, the study argues.

According to the report, Canada’s Quiet Bargain: The Benefits of Public Spending, the cost of the public services that a typical Canadian household uses annually is the equivalent of about 50 per cent of its annual income.

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