The Microsoft co-founder, now worth $ 109 billion, is calling for a tax change: the treasury should get more money from wealthy capitalists who make their investments, and less from those who work for hire.
Calls to revise the tax system in the United States and take more away from the richest are not new, but on New Years they were voiced by one of those whom they should hit hardest - Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose fortune is estimated at $ 109 billion. In his blog, he says: This figure best confirms how unfairly the economy is.
The growing income gap between the richest and poorest people in the United States has come to the fore amid the presidential campaign. Candidates vied with each other to offer possible solutions: unconditional total income, tax on robots, separation of technological monopolies and the introduction of ownership of personal data, after which everyone can make money on this.
Against this background, Gates' proposals sound quite traditional - but the higher are the chances of serious support.
The rich invest, and because of this they become richer in proportion to the effort spent. Millions of the poor receive their wages by the hour, and working in this mode, they quickly hit the ceiling - after all, there are only 24 hours in a day.
The gap is now much wider than half a century ago, Gates emphasizes, citing a study by US Census Gini.
“Few get great deals - so my reward for the work done is disproportionately large - while many others who work just as hard are trying to make ends meet,” Gates said.
The billionaire is sure that the rich should pay significantly more taxes, and one of the main ones should be the tax on investment income. “I am in favor of a tax system in which if you have more money, you give a higher percentage in taxes. I think the rich should pay more than they do now, including [my wife] Melinda and me.”
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"I see no reason why we should condone capital rather than work - as is the case today." Gates stresses that this is "the clearest proof of the system's injustice."
CNBC reminds that the Microsoft co-founder is far from alone. A similar position has long been promoted by billionaire Mark Cuban. However, he sees the expansion of the "capitalist class" as an important part of the solution. Cuban believes that every employee of the company should receive its shares in one way or another.
Gates also opposed the dynastic system of inheritance. He is confident that in this case, the children of the rich will not work as hard as their parents, and will do much less good for the economy. He encourages all the wealthy to join the Giving Pledge movement - a commitment to donate most of their wealth to charitable or innovative projects. Gates sees the popularity of this movement as a guarantee that rich people will agree to give a larger percentage of their earnings in taxes.
Alexander Noskov
