• The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an annual event in Davos, Switzerland, founded by German economist Klaus Schwab, which brings together the global elite to discuss global issues and solutions.
• Critics of the WEF argue that it is a networking opportunity used by the powerful to maintain and expand their wealth and influence, and that documents like the “Davos Manifesto” are meant to mask the true nature of the event.
• The last two years have been an economic windfall for the ultra-wealthy, with the richest 1% capturing almost two-thirds of all new wealth.
• Extreme wealth inequality is a policy choice, with taxes for the highest incomes, capital gains, and inheritance having all plummeted in wealthy countries since 1980.
• Billionaires often use the “buy, borrow, die” strategy to avoid taxation, and Senator Ron Wyden proposed a 23.8% tax on the unrealized capital gains of billionaires, which would have raised $507 billion over 10 years.
• The proposal was abandoned due to opposition from Senators Manchin and Sinema, as well as every Republican Senator, and global corporate taxes have fallen from an average of 47.5% in 1980 to 24.9% today.
• President Biden proposed a modest increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 25%, which would have helped fund climate investments and benefits for working families, but Sinema opposed the increase.
Published January 18, 2023
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