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We have a tiny wealth tax in Norway, so now the richest are moving to Switzerland.
by Thlom 4y ago
We have a tiny wealth tax in Norway, so now the richest are moving to Switzerland.
- orangepurple 4y agoSwitzerland also has a tiny wealth tax for all residents
- Jensson 4y agoSwitzerland has a tiny wealth tax instead of a capital gains tax, Switzerland's is 0.3% and Norway's wealth tax is above 1% and also has capital gains tax, totally different. The total tax per wealth is much much lower. Also you can opt for a lump sum tax, and then you don't tax your wealth or income at all, you just pay tax based on your expenses. Switzerland's tax is very lax.
- paganel 4y agoIf there’s true political will one can do it, especially if you’re a country as big as France. Let’s say Arnault, the wealthiest French guy, decides to decamp for Switzerland were the French to introduce a wealth tax, then one of the most obvious solutions would be to nationalize his assets with pennies on the dollar, introduce an “emergency societal clause” in the mix to make it more “legal”, and I can assure you that the rest of French billionaires will be happy to pay an effective tax rate of 50% (let’s say) as long as the State will still allow them to keep a nominal hold on things. And before anyone comes in and says “nationalization is a thing that only dictators do”, the modern history of France is full of examples to the contrary. As recently as 1981 Mitterrand won the presidency by promising just that, i.e. nationalizations.
- fvdessen 4y agoThen people don't invest in France as much for fear of having their wealth nationalised and invest in neighbouring countries instead. Then the middle class leaves to the better jobs in the neighbouring countries.
- danaris 4y agoAre you under the impression that most wealth in a country comes from rich people? Because observation over the past few decades strongly suggests it's the reverse. Rich people drain money out of the economy; working people create value, and thus wealth. Or what do you think is going to happen? The billionaires will pull out, but they'll make sure to retain ownership of all the businesses they ran—and fire everyone, thus ensuring that those are just losing them money? How is that going to be better for them than paying the tax? And how long before France just nationalizes the businesses and puts people back to work without the billionaires getting a cent?
- fvdessen 4y agoInvestors are usually not billionaires but either regular people putting money in the stock market for their savings or retirement money, companies looking to expand their assets, state looking to manage some of their funds, etc.
- danaris 4y agoBut that's not who was being talked about. The contention at hand was that if France were to tax its billionaires' wealth, they would leave and stop investing in France's businesses...and this would somehow destroy jobs.
- gordian-mind 4y ago> As recently as 1981 Mitterrand won the presidency by promising just that, i.e. nationalizations. And what a colossal failure that was. After two years of this policy, he was forced into a severe austerity turn. France's economy was never the same afterwards. After all you're right, if there's true political will, anyone can shoot themselves in the foot.
- paganel 4y ago40 years later I don’t see the neoliberal policies as having done the trick for France, hence the current conundrum.
- tpmx 4y agoThe wealth tax in Norway: $160k - $1.9M: 1% per year $1.9M and above: 1.4% per year