Over the past few years, wealth taxes have reentered public debate. Popular economists like Gary Stevenson, Grace Blakely and Faiza Shaheen, and now political leaders like Zack Polanski, argue that the UK must tax the richest more aggressively if it hopes to repair crumbling public services and address spiralling inequality. They’ve managed to persuade 68% of the public. But the wealth tax debate often misses a crucial problem. Wealth today does not simply sit inside national borders, waiting to be taxed. It moves; it hides.
Except often a good number of their assets exist in the real world. Businesses, buildings & land. These can be taxed regardless of their global location.
We can find fun new ways to apply horrendous taxes that penalize this behavior but reduce them for those who behave in a decent way. Maybe we start taxing turnover on companies use the Irish double sandwich-whatever trick to minimize tax. Either they play ball and contribute to society or they GTFO and someone else takes their slice