Serious global progress': G20 countries agree to targeted tax on super-rich - in theory
A tax to crack down on the world's elite, who currently pay less tax than the poor, has been agreed by each member of the G20, but ways to get it off the ground remain controversial.
Victoria Seabrook Climate reporter Monday 29 July 2024 15:27, UK
For the first time, finance leaders from every G20 country have agreed to tax the world's billionaires.
Treasury ministers and central bankers from the group of 20 major economies agreed to reference fair taxation of "ultra-high-net-worth individuals" in joint statements after meetings in Brazil.
But an agreement to team up on taxing the world's richest families papered over disagreements about how to do it, raising fears about how viable the plan is.
Even so, campaigners at Oxfam International hailed the agreement as a significant step forward.
Its tax policy lead Susana Ruiz said: "This is serious global progress - for the first time in history, the world's largest economies have agreed to cooperate to tax the ultra-rich.
She added: "Governments have for too long been complicit in helping the ultra-rich pay little or zero tax. Massive fortunes afford the world's ultra-rich outsized influence and power, which they wield to shield, stash and supersize their wealth, undercutting democracy and widening inequality."
Billionaires currently pay the equivalent of 0.3% of their wealth in taxes, according to a report by Gabriel Zucman, commissioned by Brazil, host of this year's G20 meetings, culminating in the leaders' summit in November.
The report said a 2% tax could raise $250bn (ÂŁ200bn) per year globally from about 3,000 individuals: cash that could fund public services like education, healthcare and the fight against climate change.
Brazil's finance minister Fernando Haddad said the world has a problem of "progressive taxation on the poor and not on the rich".
He added: "The poorer you are, the more tax you pay. This is almost a rule."
Global warming is caused mostly by the burning of fossil fuels by rich countries like the UK, EU and US, but its impacts are disproportionately hitting developing nations like Burundi, Somalia and Mozambique.
Campaigners say billionaires' polluting lifestyles of private jets and superyachts contribute an outsized proportion to the climate crisis.
@Oxfam, @Avaaz, @PatrioticMills, @taxmenow_eu, @350, @FightInequality & @wemoveEU handed in petitions with over 1.5 million signatures from people across the world calling on #G20 leaders to tax the ultra-rich to @Haddad_Fernando in #Brazil. Pic: Oxfam International
Image: Campaigners handed in petitions with over 1.5 million signatures calling on G20 leaders to tax the ultra-rich to Mr Haddad. Pic: Oxfam International
Brazil, which is spearheading the proposed tax, has put tackling poverty and climate change at the heart of its presidency of this year's G20 meetings, and of its hosting of the annual United Nations climate summit, COP30, in 2025.
The Amazon nation and giant of the developing world is itself battling the causes and impacts of climate change like deforestation and drought.
But the proposal has created a rift among the group of 20 large economies.
France, Spain and South Africa have expressed support, while the US is resisting it.
How would a billionaire tax work?
All agreed in a joint communique on Friday to "engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed".
But another row is rumbling over who would oversee the process.
The US backs the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) as host, but campaigners say that the club of mostly rich countries could not be trusted for the task. Instead, they want the broader and more inclusive United Nations to manage it.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said: "We don't want to see this shifted to the UN."
She added the OECD is "consensus-based organisation. We've made a huge amount of progress, and the UN doesn't have the technical expertise to do this".
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Supporters say it needs to be imposed internationally, otherwise the super-rich would just move their wealth from one country to the next, but implementing it would be extremely complicated.
To get the fund off the ground, G20 leaders would have to throw their support behind concrete coordination and standards when they meet at their annual summit in November.
Some observers remained sceptical about the chances for a global "billionaire tax" targeting the world's largest fortunes.
Not even the 27-nation European Union can tax as a bloc, and its members are divided on the proposal, though some countries are reluctant to criticise it publicly.
A UK government spokesperson said: "The UK adopts a progressive tax system, which is an essential foundation for economic growth, helping raise funds to support vital public services in a way that is fair.
"The UK continues to play a leading role in addressing 21st century global tax challenges, such as through the two pillar global tax agreement and improving the exchange of information between jurisdictions."
Brazil, which is spearheading the proposed tax, has put tackling poverty and climate change at the heart of its presidency of this year's G20 meetings, and of its hosting of the annual United Nations climate summit, COP30, in 2025.
More:
https://news.sky.com/story/serious-global-progress-g20-countries-agree-to-targeted-tax-on-super-rich-in-theory-13186697
So "defense experts" decided to put into a report what is known by Senior NCOs and basically every VFW Post in the country?
>Another useless hollywood cunt
Many thanks anon, the name was not familiar to me so I was about to look her up
So "Black Replacement" is real?
New York City turns to school gyms to house new migrants, prompting uproar
By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Published 5:22 PM EDT, May 16, 2023
New York (AP) — New York City has begun to convert public school gymnasiums into housing for international migrants, its latest effort to accommodate a growing population of asylum-seekers who have overwhelmed the city’s homeless shelter system.
The move to use the gyms as shelters with six weeks still to go in the school year touched off an immediate backlash, with parents organizing protests at several schools and threatening to keep their kids home once migrants arrive.
Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, acknowledged Tuesday that the use of the schools was “drastic” but insisted the city is out of options. Around 4,200 migrants sought space in city shelters last week alone, he said.
Twenty school gyms are currently being considered for temporary housing. At least one of them, in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, was housing migrants on Tuesday. Several others have been supplied in recent days with green cots and emergency rations. The mayor said the school gyms were intended to be used only for short periods, with the goal being to move people out quickly.
In Chicago, where officials have reported nearly 9,000 people arriving since August, hundreds of migrants who have come since mid-April have slept on the floors of city police stations. This month the city turned several park fieldhouses into “temporary respite centers,” canceling or relocated summer programs, prompting complaints from some parents.
In Denver, Colorado, new arrivals are being turned away from overcrowded shelters.
In New York City, where a court-ordered mandate guarantees all people a right to shelter, local officials have explored various unconventional ideas for housing its newest residents. Over the weekend, the city announced it had struck a deal to convert a shuttered historic hotel into a shelter with as many as 1,000 rooms.
They have placed migrants in an NYPD academy and petitioned the federal government to reopen a former military airfield.
The city has also placed migrants on buses bound for northern suburbs, prompting anger and lawsuits from upstate officials.
More:
https://apnews.com/article/migrants-asylum-new-york-eric-adams-schools-2c61324054e55b0532c48996794cc30a
Peruse the Acts of the Parliament 1885, such as the legal term "gross indecency"
I see this bread's muh joo team is active
6ee085
548535
Maduro is a Hugo Chavez mini-me
Even CNN sees it
Chavismo goes on
If Maduro takes office, it will his third consecutive six-year term and the continuation of “Chavismo,” the left-wing populist ideology named after Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chávez.
Chávez ruled Venezuela for 14 years until his death in 2013. His policies were dominated by nationalization and the redistribution of the nation’s huge oil wealth to the marginalized and poorest communities, as well as a constant push to protect Venezuelan sovereignty against “imperialist” powers.
But the oil-rich nation has in the past few years experienced the world’s worst peacetime economic crash in recent history. Maduro has blamed foreign sanctions against his regime on the downturn, saying Venezuela is victim of an “economic war.”
A loss in the election could have devastating consequences for Maduro, who is facing drug trafficking and corruption charges in the US and is under investigation for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. If he was to relinquish control, he could end up in prison.
The attempts to skew the election towards Maduro’s favor started way before the polling stations opened on Sunday.
According to a report by Laboratorio de Paz released Monday, at least 71 people had been arbitrarily detained during the election campaign – most of them after having provided some sort of service to the opposition.
The government has also created significant impediments for the millions of Venezuelans abroad to vote, including widely unattainable passport and residency requirements. Only 69,211 Venezuelans living abroad are eligible to vote in this year’s poll, according to data published by the CNE.
Only a very limited group of election observers were allowed to monitor the vote. Venezuela withdrew its invitation to EU observers to attend the country.
More:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/americas/venezuela-election-maduro-winner-intl-hnk/index.html
The mini-fridge has "beverages" so all is well
Here they go, control the supply and charge whatever they want
China’s COSCO and Fortescue Look to Build Green Fuel Supply Chain
Reuters July 29, 2024
BEIJING, July 29 (Reuters) – China’s COSCO Shipping Corporation has signed a preliminary agreement with Australia’s Fortescue to jointly build a green fuel supply chain to help reduce pollution from the shipping industry, the Chinese company said on Monday.
The memorandum of understanding includes exploring construction and deployment of green ammonia-fueled vessels owned either by COSCO or jointly owned by both companies to transport iron ore and other minerals to reduce carbon emissions in the China-Australia iron ore green shipping corridor.
“We are committed to increasing cooperation with global partners to actively promote the green and sustainable development in the shipping industry throughout its life cycle,” COSCO Shipping, headquartered in Shanghai, said in a statement on its WeChat account.
“The cooperation marks another big step in decarbonising the shipping industry … These solutions will be integral to achieving our net zero Scope 3 emission target by 2040,” Fortescue, an integrated green technology, energy, and metals company and also known as the world’s No.4 iron ore supplier, was cited as saying in the statement.
Fortescue’s executives had been in China in recent weeks talking with potential partners for joint projects, CEO Dino Otranto said on July 25.
Fortescue conducted the world’s first trial using ammonia as shipping fuel in the port of Singapore, Reuters reported in March.
https://gcaptain.com/chinas-cosco-and-fortescue-look-to-build-green-fuel-supply-chain/
Can somebody explain to me how crypto is safe from government control?
Canada #61 >>21316689
Canada freezing Freedom Convoy truckers' bank accounts showed importance of cryptocurrency: Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke about how he first realized the importance of cryptocurrency after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government froze protesting truckers' bank accounts during the Freedom Convoy.
By Rebel News July 29, 2024
While Donald Trump's appearance at the Bitcoin Conference 2024 is capturing major headlines, another U.S. presidential contender also delivered a speech at the cryptocurrency event in Nashville, Tennesse.
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discussed how he first became interested in Bitcoin, the world's leading cryptocurrency. At first, he said, he thought it was something of a fad.
But things changed during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa, when truckers, spurred on by a cross-border vaccine mandate, led a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and public health measures.
During the protest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government took extreme actions invoking the anti-terror and war-time powers through the Emergencies Act and freezing protesting Canadians' bank accounts.
“When Canada did that, the premiere template of democracy in the world besides the United States, it occurred to me immediately that transactional freedom was as important as freedom of expression and the First Amendment,” Kennedy told the crowd at Bitcoin Conference 2024.
“None of these truckers were charged with a crime, much less convicted,” he continued. “And yet the government was able to shut down their bank accounts; they couldn't pay their mortgages, they couldn't buy diesel for their trucks, they couldn't buy food for their children.”
These types of extreme measures Kennedy warned, are the “road to totalitarianism and slavery.”
“It was that instant that led me immediately grasp the potential of this technology to provide transactional freedom and self-sovereignty,” Kennedy said.
vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISFDJH4Ajpg
Familiar smell