Hope in stance of the rich at Davos

The old saying: “Can a rich man be honest and can an honest man be rich?” has resonance with the less well-off in society who feel life has been unfair to them.

Yet, undoubtedly, the world is structured in such a fashion that the rich really do get richer.

One of the most obvious ways in which this compound growth of wealth happens is through the loopholes in tax regimes around the world, which allow the wealthy (and their clever accountants and lawyers) to shift their loot around to avoid or evade paying their due.

That is why it was so refreshing to see the unusual plea yesterday from more than 100 millionaires: “Tax us now.”

Their appeal came as a study backed by wealthy individuals and nonprofits found that a wealth tax on the world’s richest people could raise $2.52 trillion (about R38.6 trillion) per year – enough to pay for Covid vaccines for everyone and pull 2.3 billion people out of poverty.

In an open letter to the World Economic Forum’s online Davos meeting, the millionaires said: “The world – every country in it – must demand the rich pay their fair share.”

What a wonderful idea – let’s hope it is not a conscience-salving publicity stunt.