To combat the effects of the Covid-19 crisis, pharmaceutical vaccines, whether they are called Pfizer, Moderna or Sputnik V, will not be enough. The order issued on 1er April, by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its report on public finances, is final: another “Global vaccination is urgently needed”, and it consists of “An injection of equality for all” facing the consequences of the crisis. In this syringe, neither messenger RNA nor chemical molecules, but a bitter potion for some: that of taxation.
The IMF cites among the possible remedies the increase in the progressivity of the tax, the heavier inheritance and gift tax as well as the property tax, the tax on “Surplus corporate profits”, or even the introduction or restoration of a wealth tax. Furthermore, “To help countries meet the financing needs related to the pandemic”, leaders could consider the possibility of “Temporary contribution for the post-Covid-19 recovery, levied on high incomes or wealth”, suggests the financial institution, which comes out of the costume of guardian of liberal orthodoxy with which it has long been credited.
42 French billionaires
In fact, the IMF note comes in a context where the idea of taxing the rich to offset the cost of the crisis is gaining ground, against a backdrop of radical change in economic policy in the United States. In mid-April, the French economist Thomas Piketty called, in The world, the establishment of a 2% worldwide tax on large fortunes exceeding 10 million euros, which would bring in 1,000 billion euros per year.
At the same time, the magazine Forbes announced that three newcomers had entered the club of French billionaires, now made up of 42 happy members, totaling alone more than 510 billion dollars (423 billion euros) of heritage.
Finally, the Multinationals Observatory estimates, in a note published on April 27, that the CAC 40 groups are preparing to pay 51 billion euros, or more than half of the French stimulus plan budget, to shareholders. So, should we tap into what seems to be an inexhaustible stock of wool to help the economic victims of the crisis?
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