Jonathan Barrett, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Both major parties refuse to grasp the nettle of New Zealand’s narrow and inherently unfair tax base.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland responds to a question during a news conference on Parliament Hill in August 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The speech from the throne is just around the corner. Will the Liberal government make broad and much-needed economic and social change amid the pandemic, or will it give in to the wealthy again?
Charitable tax incentives enable the super-wealthy to redirect billions in tax dollars away from government programs toward their private philanthropic foundations and the causes they choose to support.
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Adam Saifer, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
The growth of private foundations in Canada has occurred at the expense of government tax revenue. Philanthropic donations are dollars that have been redirected away from universal social services.
Jonathan Barrett, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
As the adult children of baby boomers start inheriting their parents’ wealth, it’s time we looked seriously at taxing this unearned income.
A police officer at a 24-hour roadblock in Cape Town, South Africa after the country went into lockdown.
Photo by Roger Sedrus/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Even allowing for falls in asset values and some tax dodging, a modest tax on the wealthiest could pay off the government’s ballooning debt.
A woman carries a bucket of fresh water to an informal settlement in Khayelitsha, near Cape Town. South Africa has the widest wealth gap in the world.
Photo by RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images
A wealth tax on the top 1% of South Africans could raise R143 billion. This corresponds to 29% of the R500 billion COVID-19 package announced by the government.
Warren and Sanders are the candidates with arguably the most aggressive plans to tax the rich.
AP Photo/Meg Kinnard
Inequality has reached untenable levels – public spending and wealth taxes are needed.
Ten presidential candidates debate on July 30. Marianne Williamson, Tim Ryan, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, John Hickenlooper, John Delaney, Steve Bullock.
Mark Peterson/Redux for CNN
Archbishop Bishop Desmond Tutu is well known for having invoked an ubuntu ethic to evaluate South African society, and he can take substantial credit for having made the term familiar.
A government of national unity has served South Africa well before. It should consider forming another after President Jacob Zuma leaves office.
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South Africa needs to start thinking about life after President Jacob Zuma. Given the damage that he’s done, serious thought should be given to forming a government of national unity.
There has been a great deal of research, planning and talking to come up with solutions to South Africa’s higher education funding crisis. Some of these plans must now be put into action.
Wealth inequality is a bigger challenge than income inequality in South Africa.
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Two centuries of tax policy show efforts to raise taxes on the rich hinge on questions of fairness. The history also suggests proponents have a tough road ahead.