———- Forwarded message ———
From: Robert Palmer – Tax Justice UK <mail@taxjustice.uk>
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2025 at 11:51
Subject: Tax the tech oligarchy
To: <peterchallen@gmail.com>
![]() Dear Peter, On Monday Donald Trump was sworn into office as the President of the United States.Some of the richest and most powerful billionaires in the world joined Trump at his inauguration in Washington. From tech titans like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerburg and Jeff Bezos, to media moguls like Rupert Murdoch – it was a who’s who of the rich and powerful.From who Trump surrounds himself with, it seems the new US government will closely serve the interests of these billionaires. Some have described the new administration as a ‘tech oligarchy’. This is dangerous. These billionaires’ influence over politics will grow further under this government. And democracy – the idea that every citizen has an equal say over how they’re governed – will be eroded. Wealth and control Extreme wealth is extreme control over politicians, as our friends at Patriotic Millionaires put it in an Open Letter to world leaders this week. The situation is so extreme a majority of wealthy people think it’s gone too far. New polling shows a majority of millionaires around the world think the influence of the super rich on the Trump presidency is a threat to global stability. 7 in 10 of the millionaires polled said that the wealth of the super rich should be taxed, to reduce their growing power – and to invest in public services. “The super-rich now manage so much more than money: they manage what we read, what we watch, the information we’re given, and ultimately, how we vote,” said Brian Cox, the actor who played Logan Roy in Succession, and a member of Patriotic Millionaires.“ When a super-rich elite is determining the outcome of elections purely to protect their vested interests and accelerate profits, it’s clear that we are in a terrifying age of wealth extremism,” Cox added. Tax the super rich more The only way to reduce the power of the super rich is to tax their wealth more. How do we do this? We introduce wealth taxes on the super rich, we close tax havens around the world, and we ensure that there’s a shared set of rules to do this. At Tax Justice UK we are campaigning for all of these things. We are lobbying for a 2% tax on fortunes above £10m in the UK, which would raise £24 billion a year. Not only would this reduce the growing power of the super rich, it would also help reverse the decline in public services and the NHS. We’re also campaigning for an end to British tax havens in places like the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. Finally, we’ve backed the creation of a UN Tax Convention to agree rules at a global level. Keep pushing together With a new government in Washington surrounded by tech billionaires, reforming tax globally got harder this week. In trying times it’s important to come together and remember what we believe in and what we’re fighting for. A fairer tax system can take more from the very rich, to support high quality public services and a thriving society. It can help reverse growing inequality and tackle the climate emergency. Share this on social media if you agree: Share on Bluesky. Share on LinkedIn. This newsletter is also available to read on our website. Thank you for being part of this campaign. We will need your help more than ever over the coming years to keep pushing for fairer taxes, and a better society that works for everyone. Thank you, Robert Palmer Executive Director Tax Justice UK ![]() |