If you are a citizen of any EU Member State, I implore you to consider signing the Tax-the-Rich citizens' initiative:
https://www.tax-the-rich.eu/
The idea is to tax the super rich and then use the money for climate transition.
This is an official EU citizens' initiative, meaning that if it reaches certain thresholds, it *will have to be* considered by the EU institutions. That's a really powerful tool, if actually used.
So we should use it.
🧵⬇️
#TaxTheRich #EU
https://www.tax-the-rich.eu/
The idea is to tax the super rich and then use the money for climate transition.
This is an official EU citizens' initiative, meaning that if it reaches certain thresholds, it *will have to be* considered by the EU institutions. That's a really powerful tool, if actually used.
So we should use it.
🧵⬇️
#TaxTheRich #EU
Tax The Rich
Nous voulons un impôt européen sur les grandes fortunes pour financer la transition climatique et sociale et aider les pays victimes des dérèglements climatiques.Tax The Rich
Ten wpis został zedytowany (12 miesiące temu)
8 użytkowników udostępniło to dalej
Witold Kowalik
•And also an honourable mention about the people of France: nosz gizdy pierońsko szybkie, tak trza żyć!
Robert Drózd
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Jednocześnie trwają przecież odrębne prace nad walką z unikaniem opodatkowania. Nie wszystko naraz. Krok po kroku.
Dla mnie fakt, że jednym z inicjatorów jest Piketty jest dość dobrym powodem, by tej inicjatywie zaufać.
Oliwier Jaszczyszyn
•first, a Facebook tracker on a site telling to tax the rich
two, site doesn't work with NoScript
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•https://eci.ec.europa.eu/038/public/
Yeah, we can't win them all.
You are of course more than welcome to go *harumph* and decide that a tool that is actually potentially effective in *simultaneously* dealing with wealth inequality and climate change is just not usable for you because of these flaws.
Or, you can — as I did — fire up a Tor Browser, sign the petition, and be on your way. It's really not that hard. If you care so much about privacy, you have ways. 🤷♀️
European Citizens' Initiative
eci.ec.europa.euMiKlo:~/citizen4.eu$💙💛udostępnił to.
MiKlo:~/citizen4.eu$💙💛
Also, I recommend sending a feedback using a form on the last screen about the lack of options to share other than corporate social media.
(I sent one).
#fedigov #EuropeanCitizensInitiative
3 ludzi lubi to
:linux: Thijmer :startrek:, Felipe L. Sologuren G. i Steve lubię to.
🐙 Compañero Allende 🇵🇸udostępnił to.
Oliwier Jaszczyszyn
•@rysiek
MiKlo:~/citizen4.eu$💙💛 lubi to.
Evil :3 Floofling lunya :neocat_floof_flag_trans:
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Natasha Nox 🇺🇦🇵🇸
•Evil :3 Floofling lunya :neocat_floof_flag_trans:
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Which is something to think about in the context that both of these issues will affect young people particularly badly, long-term. 🙄
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•@sleepybisexual
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•You can skip right to the signing by going to the relevant Citizens' Initiatives website on europa.eu here:
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/038/public/
Both sites seem to work fine in a Tor Browser, and the signing requires solving a self-hosted captcha (no Big Tech captcha involved, it seems), so at least that's good.
#TaxTheRich #EU
European Citizens' Initiative
eci.ec.europa.euMichał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Any such issue is very complex. There are always several things that need to happen to "fix" them.
So, if you react like this to any single attempt — "this can't work, as there are other issues to solve first" — then nothing ever gets fixed.
That's basically nihilism. You do you, but if you are so certain it can't work, why even bother commenting on this at all? 🤔
Riley S. Faelan
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Fair question, not clearly answered.
But this is a very early step in a potential legislative process. This question would get hammered out throughout that process, if it gets in.
It's not like we're voting on specific terms here. Merely saying: "yeah that sounds like something we should spend some EU time figuring out properly."
So, that sounds reasonable to me. Plus, Thomas Pikkety is involved. 👀
Riley S. Faelan
•In an ideal world, the idea should be neutralising the wealth-based social stratification, so I'm entirely okay with a system whereby a zillionaire can reduce their wealth tax by making all the poor people around them a little bit richer and thereby nudging the average upwards.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Alberto Cottica
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Nevermind, found it, the FAQ.
Alberto Cottica
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•https://www.tax-the-rich.eu/home#faq
> The criteria for defining an "ultra-rich" should vary from one EU country to another, due to the economic, fiscal and social differences between member states. In Belgium, for example, we propose that anyone with 1.25 million euros in assets in addition to their main home and business assets should qualify as "ultra-rich".
So there we are!
Tax The Rich
Tax The RichAndreas
•The example is someone in Belgium owning 1.25M€ in addition to a house being considered "ultra-rich".
That's an interesting data point but I suspect that is *way* too low a barrier for many people.
Exceeding 1.25M€ is easily done by inheriting a house that was worth 50.000€ when it was built 60 years ago.
And people who are looking at potentially receiving at such an inheritance are going to go "hmmm, that might hit me too. Better not sign!". And I can totally understand that because in general everybody is always looking out for themselves first.
I do not understand why these initiatives are not putting out a statement such as "we consider people having liquidity of more than 5M€ to be ultra-rich and are interested in taxing these!".
That's a clear statement and the cut-off is far enough removed from the possibly-rich-enough-after-inheriting to not alienate that big part of the population.
Instead we get these non-answers covered in relative terms resulting in a lot of people going "yeah, thank. not signing...".
J. "Henry" Waugh
•Governments know this, and have an incentive to act collectively. Slowly but surely, they are:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_minimum_corporate_tax_rate
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦udostępnił to.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Nicole Parsons
•There are fewer and fewer places for the rich to hide their money and evade taxation, as a result.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/01/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-todays-agreement-of-130-countries-to-support-a-global-minimum-tax-for-the-worlds-largest-corporations/
Europe could do the same. Support a global minimum tax.
Statement by President Joe Biden on Today’s Agreement of 130 Countries to Support a Global Minimum Tax for the World’s Largest Corporations | The White House
The White HouseMichał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦udostępnił to.
Dusty Attic
•Putting aside discussion about feasibility, details of implementation, and the risk of unintended consequences, I'm uneasy about the way some of the desired outcomes of this proposal are framed.
By implying that "a just ecological and social transition" is conditioned on the contributions, albeit involuntary, of the rich, you just reinforce the same ideas that stand behind gold visa / citizenship schemes, EU tax heavens, and the incredible power of philanthropic whitewashing.
They're rich because they're better than all of us; they're better than all of us because they're rich, and if you keep insisting that this is a circular argument, they're the only way to save us from climate disaster and societal collapse. So clearly, they're better than all of us, their wealth is totally deserved, and you should believe whatever e/acc bullshit they sell at the moment.
Taxing can be the beginning of a discussion about wealth inequality (if I recall correctly, that was one of the arguments behind the global wealth tax in Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century) It can be used to adjust the balance of power (hell, if "moving wealth elsewhere" makes even a small dent in their ability to shape policies, then it is a win in my book). However, seeing it as necessary for implementing essential policies is a slippery slope. Ultimately, balance sheets are not the problem. The problem is that we have policies that keep real resources from where we (as in 99%) need them and divert them where they benefit a few by, among other things, giving them control over the policies that make them wealthy.
As @pluralistic wrote in Walkaway (https://craphound.com/category/walkaway/):
"If there are rich and poor, you need a story to explain why some have
so much and so many have little. You need a story that explains this is
fair. Last century, the rich made things stable by giving some money
back, tax and education and so on. Welfare state. People could
become rich. Invent something, you could become rich, even if
you weren't born rich.
But those zottas—not zottas yet, actually, just gigas or megas—only
let their money be taxed because it was cheaper than paying for private
security and official surveillance they needed to keep hold of wealth if
the system grew unstable because of the gap between them and everyone."
Let's push for changes, but speak out loud why we need them.
Dusty Attic
•“Our request is simple: we ask you to tax us, the very richest in society,” the wealthy people said in an open letter to world leaders. “This will not fundamentally alter our standard of living, nor deprive our children, nor harm our nations’ economic growth. But it will turn extreme and unproductive private wealth into an investment for our common democratic future.“
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/17/wealth-tax-super-rich-davos-abigail-disney-brian-cox-valerie-rockefeller
@rysiek
Tax our wealth, super-rich tell politicians at Davos
Rupert Neate (The Guardian)szescstopniudostępnił to.
Chris Real
•Powerful people speaking with common sense is so rare that it almost scares me.
I have trouble believing that they don't have some kind of hidden agenda.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•That's fine. It's still progress.
Chris Real
•Yeah, that rings more true.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Chris Real
•This is a situation where both things could be true.
Many capitalists approach wealth as a zero-sum game, but some might also understand that it doesn't have to be.
And others might be beginning to understand that it helps to have a good reputation with the public, when the environment is more valuable than zeros on spreadsheets.
The Russian tzars and their children children were said to have many valuable jewels sewn into their garments, when they were shot to death.
INPC
•‘Scuse the pun but it’s a bit rich coming from this lot.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Dusty Attic
•But it is quite symptomatic that you don't hear calls for fighting market concentration, regulatory capture, corporate tax evasion, antilabor practices. Not to mention introducing meaningful taxation on inheritance of large estates.
You know, all these small things that make accumulation and preservations of such fortunes possible.
@rysiek
Cassandrich
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•@mxtthxw @dustyattic
CoopDot 💻 𐑒𐑵𐑐𐑛𐑪𐑑
•Yes, but moving the wealth can also cost money. Making paying the tax maybe the cheapest option or not expensive enough to be worth deviating from already set plans.
Some people are "allergic" to taxes, but otherwise, one should not waste too much time on this point
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Nafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦
•Pretend that you're a rich person who adores their money and already spends their days jetsetting around the world. What tricks would YOU use? You can afford all the greatest accounting and legal minds in the world to help you come up with them, so they're going to be good!
If you haven't gamed this out, what you have is worthless.
Nafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦
•The point of legislation isn't "showy stunts", it's "actual outcomes".
Game it out and defend your work, or stop wasting your breath and people's time.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Nafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦
•Again: you need to *game out what countermeasure will be applied to what policy*.
Nafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦
•Okay, now play a rich person. "Fuck this. Okay, now it's no longer "my money" and "my luxury", it's now "my company's". *I* don't have a private jet, but *my company* does. *I* don't have a beach house in Fiji, *my company* has a *small office* in Fiji. Etc.
Game out countermeasures, or your proposal is worthless.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•No specific point, just: "maybe you should think of possible consequences"?
You honestly think that people behind this proposal, with years of experience in the field, haven't thought of that?
Anyway, the whole "rich people will leave the country" thing is a story rich people keep telling to not get taxed:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hueRrG_u83Q
Calling The Rich Out on Their Bluff
YouTubeMichał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•But coming into a thread about a proposal like that and just assuming that nobody got the idea to "game it out" before submitting, especially with people like Piketty being involved, is quite a thing to do!
Unless you have a specific point to make, a specific criticism beyond "the rich will move" (which they won't), we're done here.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•That's exactly the kind of nihilism that the Bezoses, Musks, Zuckerbergs, and Gates of this world hope to get people to espouse — and it's scary how effective it is.
Here's the thing: any such issue is very complex. There are always several things that need to happen to "fix" them.
So, if you react like this to any single attempt — "this can't work, as there are other issues to solve first" — then nothing ever gets fixed.
@wikiyu
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Okay, let's say you're right. Let's say that this has no way of fixing anything what-so-ever. That it will have no effect at all.
Here's my question: why spend the time discouraging people from doing it, then?
Like, if you truly believe in what you said, there is no point in such discouragement. It's inevitable it won't work. Why the urge to make such a comment? It strikes me as a definition of pointless.
@wikiyu
Sheogorath
•There is also an amount of rich people who will rather pay the tax than finding another loophole. Sure they won't be happy about it, and that's already something.
Tree of Life
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•At some level of wealth it becomes completely abstract.
Zero here, zero there make no *real* difference. The only difference that matters at that level is a financial dick measuring contest: who has more, who has less? Who is first on list of the wealthiest people on the planet?
If everyone of these billionaires is taxed the same, this does not re-order that ladder.
@hq1 @wikiyu
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•The point of this initiative is that a new tax is imposed on the super wealthy, and that tax is then earmarked for fighting climate crisis. I like that construction. Obviously it's a long way to an actual legislation, but one has to start somewhere.
@wikiyu
Leszek Karlik
•A lot of money is spent on convincing people that wealth taxes don't work because the wealthy can escape to another state.
And then when wealth taxes are implemented they prove to work, because moving has a significant cost, and if your wealth is built on local networks of power, which it frequently is, moving also destroys wealth.
Witold Kowalikudostępnił to.
Marko
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
2024-01-14 16:39:37
Adam
•Curious to learn about any examples. Can you cite some? Again, not trying to be cynical/sarcastic
@rysiek @wikiyu
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_taxation_in_the_United_States#16th_Amendment
@Leszek_Karlik @wikiyu
Adam
•> And then when wealth taxes are implemented they prove to work
I meant that specifically, you made it sound like it has happened somewhere in the world? Genuinely no idea. I share the wishful thinking, if that’s what it is.
@rysiek @wikiyu
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•It is perfectly reasonable to say "not that" even if one does not have a good solution. But that has to be related to some specific bad outcome.
Saying "not that, just because I don't think it would work, but no I have no specific bad outcome I am concerned with, and no I have no alternative" is what gets me.
Esp. when it's delivered in an authoritative tone of "this will never work."
Again, if "this will never work", why even bother opposing it? Just sit back and enjoy being right!
Krzysztof Stenografow
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Krzysztof Stenografow
•Florida as it gets ~
•EV's being - a solution of sorts.. imho
Special Report: Epstein, Maxwell, and Blackmail - What everyone is missing about the scandal.
YouTubeJoão Cachada
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•But the way I see it, this is an extremely early step in a potential legislative process. This issue will be hammered out throughout that process, if it ever actually gets the required support.
It's not like we're voting on a specific terms here. Just saying "yeah that sounds like something we should spend some EU time figuring out properly." So, that sounds reasonable to me.
That, and Pikkety is involved.
João Cachada
•Agree those are particulars though, and those discussions can't be had without starting somewhere. This is probably as good a starting point as any. Beats inertia at least 👍
Marga Xeyat Ⓐ
•CelloMom On Cars
•Hier is een mooi Europees initiatief;
Tekenen is zo gebeurd:
"This initiative calls on the European Commission to establish a European tax on great wealth.
The contribution would be used to combat climate change and inequality."
https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2023/000006_en
#TaxTheRich
@rysiek
Rusty the Red-Nosed Reindeer
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Frisk
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Parade du Grotesque 💀
•Marko
•Paul Schoe
•@rysiek @hq1 @wikiyu
X
•it's happening right now in California.
https://www.bankier.pl/wiadomosc/Kalifornijski-exodus-trwa-Powodem-za-wysokie-podatki-8675441.html
Kalifornijski exodus trwa. Powodem za wysokie podatki
Redaktor Bankier.pl (Bankier.pl)Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
2024-01-14 17:12:20
:gnu:+bonifartius 𒂼𒄄
•let's totally do that! :blobcatcool:
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•mhack
•New York decided to increase taxes on the most wealthy, the only people leaving New York are the people that can't afford housing prices.
"The report also found that affluent residents who left New York did not appear to have been driven away by recent tax increases."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/nyregion/nyc-working-class-tax-rich.html
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_taxation_in_the_United_States#16th_Amendment
stonehead
•(Funny that the site uses all kinds of modern identification, but when it asks for a mail address, you can't use a plus sign in that. Boo!)
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Ben Rosengart
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Ben Rosengart
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•https://eci.ec.europa.eu/038/public/#/screen/home
European Citizens' Initiative
eci.ec.europa.euBen Rosengart
•If you reside outside Germany, you need to have registered your current permanent residence at the relevant German diplomatic representation.
I think I need to invest some more effort before I can participate democratically in EU and German spheres.
I appreciate your help.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•KristFist
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦udostępnił to.
Olga Laurenty
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•🐙 Compañero Allende 🇵🇸
•(Signed)
#TaxTheRich #EU
DeterioratedStucco
•Boosting - hope it helps.
trusty falxter 🧠
•- identify with eID
- service timed out
- alternatively create account
- thanks, now you have to identify with eID, nevertheless
- service timed out
- 🙄
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/privacy-policy-concerning-signatories-personal-data-collected-using-central-online-collection_en#9-Contact-information
Privacy policy concerning signatories' personal data collected using the central online collection system
European Citizens' InitiativeC0ppertop
•Psil
•Jesse
•For all those people saying "the rich will just move if you tax them" this amazing video explains why that is false:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hueRrG_u83Q
Calling The Rich Out on Their Bluff
YouTubeMichał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Matthew M :risc_os_verified:
•wolf maahn
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•wolf maahn
•wolf maahn
•wolf maahn
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Schrottkatze
•wolf maahn
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•JesseTong
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦udostępnił to.
Kevin Lyda
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Tofu Golem
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•U.Lancier
•If someone inherits more than he/she needs for being of average wealth for the rest of their life expectancy (including their wealth already amassed) then tax all that exceeds it with 50%, payable with at least 5% during the oncoming 10 years plus interest.
Gianf:) :elementary:
•_jayrope
•Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Climate transition, meanwhile, is both urgent and pretty clearly defined.
Jarjan
•:ms_tarot_sword: Sem :ms_tarot_sword:
•As a preface - this is not to discredit the initiative. Even if it does not go through (which I suspect will be the case), the popularity it gained is already a strong enough message.
Enough bla-bla, lets get to my 2 main doubts:
- The commission is not required to act upon the initiative. Even with a totally valid initiative, they have no obligation whatsoever, to start a legislative procedure.
- The initiative is based on the art 115 TFEU, which requires a *unanimity* in the Council - the Eu institution that represents the national governments of the member states. This means that, even if the Commission does go through with the initiative, litteraly every single member state will have to agree to it. And with varying levels of democracy and socialistic tendencies in the member states, this seems unlikely to me.
To be fair I just hope that the initiative will stir enough shit up.
CommentateurAvisé 🇫🇷🇪🇺 4💉
•I'm so glad to see that you have spread the news about this initiative.
French progressive people have massively signed it. We encourage other fellow European citizens to do so.
One can add that moving your money to avoid such a tax would mean getting out of the EU / Euro-area, I suppose it's quite different in terms of opportunities from moving from 🇨🇿, 🇩🇪 or 🇫🇷 to 🇫🇮 or🇧🇪, 🇵🇹 etc
Economist Gabriel Zucman & MEP Aurore Lalucq are also involved !
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦udostępnił to.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
•Gustav Lindqvist
•Hope it does happen though!
HerrHerrmann
•Let’s gooooooo.