Summary of A onda de jovens milionários europeus querendo abrir mão de fortunas e pagar mais impostos | Podcast

00:00:00 - 00:10:00

In this episode of the DW Revista podcast, Fernanda Azolini discusses the emerging trend among young European millionaires and billionaires, such as Marlene Engelhorn and Anthony Schwarz, who are advocating for higher taxes on wealth and inheritance. Marlene, a 31-year-old Austro-German heiress, and Anthony Schwarz, who inherited from a sold pharmaceutical company, believe that inheriting wealth comes with a moral responsibility to pay taxes and contribute to societal issues. They are part of Tex minimal, an initiative advocating for tax justice, and the Proud to Pay More group, which includes over 250 millionaires and billionaires calling for action against economic inequality. The group aims for the reintroduction of the Wealth Tax and special regulations for inheritance and donations taxes. The podcast can be accessed through various streaming audio platforms, and the European Fiscal Observatory estimates that implementing a 2% tax on super-rich individuals' wealth could generate $250 billion annually. However, political challenges, including tax havens, make the implementation of such a tax significant. The episode invites listeners to share their thoughts on the topic.

• 00:00:00 In this section of the DW Revista podcast episode, Fernanda Azolini discusses the new trend among young European millionaires and billionaires, including Marlene Engelhorn and Anthony Schwarz, who are actively advocating for higher taxes on wealth and inheritance. Marlene, a 31-year-old Austro-German, inherited millions after the abolition of the inheritance tax in Austria in 2008 and decided to donate a portion of it to create a committee to decide how the funds will be distributed. She emphasizes her belief that she did not earn the wealth and feels it is a failure of politics that she is not taxed on it. Anthony Schwarz, who inherited millions when his family's pharmaceutical company was sold in 2006, now dedicates a significant portion of his wealth to investing in funds and initiatives addressing global issues like climate change and social injustice. Both individuals believe that inheriting wealth comes with a moral responsibility to pay taxes and contribute to solving societal problems.
• 00:05:00 In this section of the podcast, two young European heirs, in 2021, founded Tex minimal, which roughly translates to "tribute me" in Portuguese. It's an initiative by wealthy individuals in German-speaking countries advocating for tax justice. They aim for the reintroduction of the Wealth Tax for assets valued in millions and billions of euros, a limit on tax exemptions for commercial assets, and special regulations for inheritance and donations taxes. These two young heirs are also part of the Proud to Pay More group, which consists of over 250 millionaires and billionaires who wrote a letter to political elites at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The letter expressed their surprise that representatives of major economies had not taken action to address the dramatic increase in economic inequality, with consequences being catastrophic for society. Notable signatories include Abigail Disney, heiress to the Disney empire, actor and writer Simon Pegg, musician and composer Brian Annan, and Valerie Rockefeller, a descendant of John D. Rockefeller, the first modern billionaire. The group also includes Brazilian businessman João Paulo Pacífico, founder of Gaia, a group of investments that now invests in social projects and collaborates with landless cooperatives. The podcast can be accessed through various streaming audio platforms, including Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Google Home, and Alexa. The European Fiscal Observatory estimated that if all super-rich individuals paid 2% in taxes on their wealth, there would be an annual revenue of $250 billion. However, the political challenges of implementing such a tax are significant, with France and Argentina having attempted and failed to do so in the past. The automatic exchange of fiscal information between countries is being implemented gradually, but challenges remain due to tax havens like the Cayman Islands, Mauritius, Panama, and others, which are not part of this agreement. With leaked data from Wikileaks, it was discovered that many Brazilian millionaires had investments in tax havens.
• 00:10:00 In this section of the podcast, the discussion revolves around the challenge of defining what it truly means to be a super rich individual, with a focus on the perception of wealth and taxation. According to a study by a research institution, 58% of the wealthy support the creation of a 2% tax on those possessing fortunes of $10 million or more. Enzo thanks the listener for their participation and invites them to share their thoughts on whether the super rich should pay more taxes in the comments. The episode is available for listening and the podcast will continue next week.