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Most wealth taxes are irrational ideas
The rich avoid tax by moving money, making many tax-the-rich schemes a fool’s errand.
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Proponents of the wealth tax argue it makes the rich pay more for necessary public services and narrows the inequality gap.
PHOTO: BT FILE
Ben Chester Cheong
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Each time Singapore’s spending needs come up, somebody is bound to raise the idea of net wealth taxes to enrich public coffers.
Imposing a general wealth tax and extracting value from the assets owned by wealthy individuals may sound attractive in theory. Proponents argue it makes the rich pay more for necessary public services and narrows the inequality gap, tapping a sentiment popularised by French economist Thomas Piketty’s book Capital In The Twenty-First Century, which shone the international spotlight on the shocking disparity of wealth in advanced economies.
