At the risk of sounding like a “snowflake,” there are some things that “trigger” me.
It drives me crazy, for instance, when rich leftists support tax increases, particularly since many of them (Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc) lower their tax bills by using expensive lawyers and accountants.
If they really think politicians in Washington should have more money, they can easily volunteer extra money via a website maintained by the Treasury Department.
But they never seem to do that. Instead, all their moral posturing is focused on raising other people’s taxes.
This is not just a problem in the United States.
Indeed, Emma Bubola of the New York Times recently reported on one of these neurotic people from Europe.
By the time her extraordinarily wealthy grandmother died last month, Marlene Engelhorn already knew who she wanted to be the ultimate beneficiary of the enormous inheritance coming her way: the tax man. “The dream scenario is I get taxed,” said Ms. Engelhorn, the co-founder of a group called Tax Me Now. …For more than a year, Ms. Engelhorn has been campaigning for tax policies that would redistribute her eight-figure windfall — and anyone else’s. …she entered the orbit of groups of pro-tax millionaires, whose members meet in person or on video calls to discuss their privileges — and how to get the state to strip them away. …members are expected to share how they are engaged in what they typically term “reparations” to society. …Its policy goal is to implement or to increase inheritance and wealth taxes (Austria, where Ms. Engelhorn lives, abolished its inheritance tax in 2008). …Ms. Engelhorn’s multiple radio and TV appearances have resulted in dozens of people reaching out to ask her directly for financial help. She said it wrecks her to say no, but she believes it should not be on her to decide who gets her money. “I would like tax justice to take this impossible decision off my hands,” she said.
This type of nonsense triggers three reactions from me.
- First, I’m sure European governments have provisions in their law to accept voluntary payments. Strange how Ms. Engelhorn is not taking advantage of the opportunity.
- Second, she seems completely oblivious to the research showing how rich entrepreneurs (like her ancestors) created wealth – most of which goes to other people.
- Third, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read how it “wrecks her” to say no to people suffering hardship. She must be a sad joke of a person.
Though there was one part of the story that produced a genuine smile on my face.
It seems one of Ms. Engelhorn’s ancestors cleverly (and appropriately) did the German version of a corporate inversion.
It is not the first time a member of Ms. Engelhorn’s family has made headlines with tax-related issues. When her great-uncle and archaeology donor Curt Engelhorn sold Boehringer Mannheim, German tax authorities didn’t collect a dime because he had previously moved the company’s legal seat abroad.
Let’s close by looking at a different perspective.
In a column for the Foundation for Economic Education, Rainer Zitelmann opined on the existence of guilt-ridden rich people.
I know hundreds of multimillionaires and plenty of billionaires and conducted in-depth interviews with 45 of them for my doctoral dissertation The Wealth Elite. But I have yet to meet anyone who felt they weren’t paying enough tax. The 100 millionaires and billionaires from nine countries who have signed the latest letter asking to pay more tax might sound like a lot, but there are 2,755 billionaires around the world. There are also more than 20 million millionaires in the world, so 100 is equivalent to 0.0005 percent.
Though I’m not sure I fully embrace Rainer’s optimistic numbers.
After all, there’s strong evidence that rich people are now a reliable leftist voting bloc. At least in the United States.
P.S. You can see me debate guilt-ridden neurotic leftists by clicking here and here.
