Yellen explained why the US does not support a global tax on the wealth of billionaires
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the US will not support a proposal to introduce a global tax on the wealth of billionaires at the upcoming meeting of G7 finance ministers.
Brazil, which holds the G20 presidency this year, has been pushing the idea of a tax that would make the super-rich pay more in taxes, regardless of where they live. Under the previous plan, billionaires would have to pay an annual tax of at least 2% of their total wealth.
According to the WSJ, Yellen is scheduled to meet with G7 finance ministers later this week to discuss the topic, and the Treasury chief has no intention of supporting the idea.
“This is something we cannot subscribe to”, she emphasized.
The proposed tax on the wealth of billionaires, according to the plan of its supporters, should become a tool for increasing tax revenues of countries and reducing the income gap, which has grown significantly in recent years.
Although the United States supports the principle of progressive taxation, it does not consider it appropriate to introduce “a general global mechanism for taxation of billionaires with income redistribution.”
Yellen noted that the US already taxes its citizens on their worldwide income, making it difficult for them to avoid taxation by moving assets abroad.
