G20 agree to work on Brazil’s ‘billionaire tax’ idea, implementation seen difficult

G20 agree to work on Brazil’s ‘billionaire tax’ idea, implementation seen difficult
Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad delivers a speech (on the screen) during the pre-launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, in the framework of the G20 Ministerial Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 24, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 26 July 2024
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G20 agree to work on Brazil’s ‘billionaire tax’ idea, implementation seen difficult

G20 agree to work on Brazil’s ‘billionaire tax’ idea, implementation seen difficult
  • Brazil’s search for a global agreement on taxing the richest of the rich is backed by France, Spain, South Africa, Colombia and the African Union
  • US under President Biden supports the idea but prefers that it be done by country as tax policy is very difficult to coordinate globally, says Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

RIO DE JANEIRO:  The world’s 20 biggest economies (G20) agreed on Thursday to work together to ensure the ultra rich are effectively taxed, in a declaration that seeks a balance between national sovereignty and more cooperation on tax avoidance.
The declaration, which will be published on Friday, was a priority for Brazil, chairing talks of the G20 this year, whose leader Luiz Inacio Lula, a former factory worker, was pushing to include the “billionaire tax” on the G20 agenda.
“With full respect to tax sovereignty, we will seek to engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed,” the G20 tax declaration, seen by Reuters, said.
“Cooperation could involve exchanging best practices, encouraging debates around tax principles, and devising anti-avoidance mechanisms, including addressing potentially harmful tax practices,” it said.
Brazil has spurred discussion of a proposal to levy a 2 percent wealth tax on fortunes over $1 billion, raising estimated revenue of up to $250 billion annually from 3,000 individuals.
“What started today is a broader process that will require the participation of academia, scholars, and international organizations with experience and time, such as the OECD and the UN,” Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told reporters.

France, Spain and South Africa — which will chair the G20 in 2025 — had expressed support, an official from the Brazilian Ministry of Finance told journalists last week.

Others in the G20, while supportive, noted how difficult it is likely to be to implement the agreement.
“We all know that we are starting a process which is very, very challenging,” European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on the sidelines of the G20 meeting.
“The first step will be to work on exchange of information among different countries. It will be something to discuss in the coming months and years.”
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also applauded the spirit of discussions on the declaration, but was wary of a new global tax policy, noting US President Joe Biden had proposed several policies to that end, including a “billionaires tax.”
“We think ... it makes sense for most countries to take this approach of progressive taxation. And we are happy to work with Brazil on that and propagate these ideas in the G20,” she told reporters at the G20 meeting.
“But tax policy is very difficult to coordinate globally and we don’t see a need or really think it is desirable to try to negotiate a global agreement on that. We think that all countries should make sure that their taxation systems are fair and progressive.”

Washington is not the only skeptic. On the eve of the G20 meeting, Germany’s finance ministry said it considers the idea of a minimum wealth tax to be “irrelevant.”




US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen holds a press conference in the framework of the G20 Ministerial Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 25, 2024. (AFP)

Tax havens

An agreement on a global tax on billionaires is necessary to diminish the attractiveness of tax havens, said economist Bruno Carazza, a professor at the Dom Cabral Foundation, a business school.
Billionaires currently pay the equivalent of 0.3 percent of their wealth in taxes, according to a report from French economist Gabriel Zucman commissioned by Brazil. The report said a 2 percent tax would raise $200 billion to $250 billion per year globally from about 3,000 individuals, money that could fund public services such as education and health care as well as the fight against climate change.
The richest 1 percent have amassed $42 trillion in new wealth over the past decade, nearly 36 times more than the entire bottom 50 percent of the world’s population, according to an Oxfam analysis released Thursday ahead of the finance ministers’ meeting.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended the need for increased taxation of the world’s richest in Rio on Wednesday when he unveiled plans for a global alliance against hunger and poverty.
“At the top of the pyramid, tax systems stop being progressive and become regressive. The super-rich pay proportionally much less tax than the working class,” Lula said.
“Some individuals control more resources than entire countries. Others have their own space programs,” he added.

The “billionaire tax” would be aimed at the world’s richest individuals such as Tesla and Space X owner Elon Musk, with a fortune that Forbes magazine estimates at around $235 billion, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos with some $200 billion, or French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault with a fortune of some $180 billion.
According to charity Oxfam, the richest 1 percent have amassed $42 trillion in new wealth over the past decade, nearly 34 times more than the entire bottom 50 percent of the world’s population, deepening wealth inequality.
The average wealth per person in the top 1 percent rose by nearly $400,000 in real terms over the last decade compared to just $335 — an equivalent increase of less than nine cents a day — for a person in the bottom half, Oxfam said.
The global alliance against hunger and poverty aims to implement a mechanism to mobilize funds and knowledge to support the expansion of policies and programs to combat inequality and poverty, according to a statement from Brazil’s G20 press office on Tuesday. It would be managed by a secretariat located at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome and Brasilia until 2030, with half of its costs covered by Brazil, Lula said in his speech.


King Charles, Queen Camilla join Ramadan charity effort at London restaurant

King Charles, Queen Camilla join Ramadan charity effort at London restaurant
Updated 27 February 2025
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King Charles, Queen Camilla join Ramadan charity effort at London restaurant

King Charles, Queen Camilla join Ramadan charity effort at London restaurant
  • Visit highlights royal couple’s support for interfaith initiatives

LONDON: Britain’s King Charles III joked on Wednesday he was past his “sell-by date” as he and Queen Camilla helped pack food donation boxes for charity at Darjeeling Express, an Indian restaurant in Soho, ahead of Ramadan.

The British monarch and his wife visited the female-run restaurant, founded by British restaurateur Asma Khan, to support its initiative of cooking for charitable causes during the Muslim holy month.

Camilla assisted staff in packing biryani meals for Doorstep, a charity aiding families in temporary housing.

As she ladled food into a takeaway box, she joked: “Is that enough, or some more? They might still be a bit hungry after my portion.”

Charles, who was initially occupied with meeting guests, joined in with meal preparation, asking: “Is it chicken and proper basmati rice?” He was delighted to learn that some curry would be sent to Buckingham Palace for him.

The king and queen later packed dates into bags for iftar meals to be served in hospitals.

When Charles noticed the speed of the process, he laughed: “We don’t waste time. Paid by results!” Khan was impressed by their teamwork, saying: “You are packing them faster than I can seal them. I never realized this was such a speedy couple.”

The visit highlighted the royal couple’s long-standing support for interfaith initiatives in Britain and abroad, continuing Charles’ tradition of engaging with different religious communities across the UK and the Commonwealth.


EU urges ‘respect’ for court sentence against Bosnian Serb leader

EU urges ‘respect’ for court sentence against Bosnian Serb leader
Updated 27 February 2025
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EU urges ‘respect’ for court sentence against Bosnian Serb leader

EU urges ‘respect’ for court sentence against Bosnian Serb leader
  • “The EU expects all political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina to respect the decisions of the courts,” a European Commission spokesman said
  • Russia has slammed the verdict as “political“

BRUSSELS: The European Union Thursday urged all sides in Bosnia to respect court rulings and avoid “divisive” actions after the head of the country’s Serb region was sentenced to jail for defying an international envoy.
“The EU expects all political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina to respect the decisions of the courts and acknowledge their independence and impartiality without applying any pressure or interference,” a European Commission spokesman said.
Brussels urges all actors to “refrain from and renounce provocative, divisive rhetoric and actions, including questioning the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the country,” spokesman Anouar El Anouni told reporters.
Under a 1995 peace agreement, Bosnia is split into two autonomous bodies — a Bosniak-Croat federation and a Serb entity, connected by a weak central government under supervision by an international high representative.
Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russian leader of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska (RS), was sentenced to a year in jail Wednesday for failing to comply with decisions made by the high representative, Christian Schmidt.
Russia has slammed the verdict as “political,” and Bosnian Serb lawmakers were weighing potential measures in response.
The EU has previously warned that challenging the terms of the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended Bosnia’s intercommunal war would threaten the country’s ambitions to join the bloc.
“The European Union is unequivocally committed to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU perspective as a single, united and sovereign country,” El Anouni said.
“We encourage all political actors to focus on the EU path, and this for the benefit of citizens, a large majority of whom do support EU integration,” he added.


Over 500,000 Afghans displaced due to climate disasters in 2024: IOM

Over 500,000 Afghans displaced due to climate disasters in 2024: IOM
Updated 27 February 2025
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Over 500,000 Afghans displaced due to climate disasters in 2024: IOM

Over 500,000 Afghans displaced due to climate disasters in 2024: IOM
  • “Nearly 9 million individuals were impacted by climate hazards in the last 12 months,” according to the IOM report
  • “Roughly three in five of those displaced relocated elsewhere within their province of origin“

KABUL: More than half a million people in Afghanistan were displaced due to climate disasters in 2024, the International Organization for Migration said in a country report published on Tuesday.
“Nearly 9 million individuals were impacted by climate hazards in the last 12 months, with over 500,000 displaced by floods, drought, and other disasters,” according to the IOM report.
“Roughly three in five of those displaced relocated elsewhere within their province of origin,” with the western Herat and Farah provinces among the hardest hit, it said.
This week, 39 people were killed due to floods, hail and storms in southwestern Afghanistan, mainly in Farah, according to local authorities.
Afghanistan is among the poorest countries in the world after decades of war and is ranked the sixth most vulnerable to climate change, which is spurring extreme weather.
Drought, floods, land degradation and declining agricultural productivity are key threats, according to the United Nations.
Flash floods last May killed hundreds and swamped swaths of agricultural land in Afghanistan, where 80 percent of people depend on farming to survive.
“Over 11 million people in Afghanistan are at high risk of severe impacts from climate-induced disasters in the future,” the IOM said.
The UN agency estimates that “climate-sensitive livelihoods, like subsistence farming, make up 73 percent of jobs in Afghanistan.”
It added that “92 percent of villages have limited access to emergency services” and “96 percent lack resources for crucial measures like early warning systems and search and rescue.”


WHO decides mpox epidemic still global health emergency

WHO decides mpox epidemic still global health emergency
Updated 27 February 2025
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WHO decides mpox epidemic still global health emergency

WHO decides mpox epidemic still global health emergency
  • “The mpox upsurge continues to meet the criteria of a public health emergency of international concern,” said WHO
  • The decision was “based on the continuing rise in numbers and geographic spread”

GENEVA: Mpox remains an international public health emergency, the World Health Organization said Thursday after deciding the epidemic still merits the highest level of alert, with cases rising and its geographic spread widening.
“The mpox upsurge continues to meet the criteria of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC),” said a WHO statement.
The emergency committee on mpox met for the third time on Tuesday and advised WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that the situation still constituted a PHEIC.
The decision was “based on the continuing rise in numbers and geographic spread, the violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo — which hampers the response — as well as a lack of funding to implement the response plan,” said the brief statement.
Tedros concurred with the committee’s advice, extending the PHEIC first declared on August 14 last year.
A PHEIC is the highest level of alarm under the International Health Regulations, which are legally binding on 196 countries.
The UN health agency’s chief had declared the emergency amid a rapid spread of the disease, formerly known as monkeypox, in Africa and especially in the DR Congo.
Mpox is caused by a virus from the same family as smallpox. It can be transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed between people through close physical contact.
The disease, which was first detected in humans in 1970 in the DR Congo, then known as Zaire, causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly.
It has two subtypes: clade 1 and clade 2.
The virus, long endemic in central Africa, gained international prominence in May 2022 when clade 2 spread around the world, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men.
Nearly 128,000 mpox cases have been laboratory confirmed across 130 countries since then, including 281 deaths, WHO data shows.
The WHO declared a global health emergency in July 2022, but thanks to vaccination and awareness drives that helped stem the spread, that declaration was lifted in May 2023.
Just a year later, however, a new two-pronged epidemic broke out mainly in the DR Congo, with both the original clade 1a strain and a new strain, clade 1b.
This prompted the WHO’s new emergency declaration last August.
To date, community spread of the clade 1b strain has been confirmed in the DRC and five other African nations, and it has been detected in another 15 countries around the world in connection with travel, WHO data shows.
The DRC confirmed more than 13,000 mpox cases and 43 deaths in 2024, and the country confirmed more than 2,000 cases in the first five weeks of this year — more than half of the cases confirmed globally.


Germany jails two Afghans in suspected Sweden attack plot

Germany jails two Afghans in suspected Sweden attack plot
Updated 27 February 2025
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Germany jails two Afghans in suspected Sweden attack plot

Germany jails two Afghans in suspected Sweden attack plot
  • They were found guilty of plotting to “kill members of parliament... in response to the burning of Qur'an in Sweden,” the higher regional court said
  • Ibrahim M. G., 30, was sentenced to five years and six months in jail, and Ramin N., 24, received a sentence of four years and two months

BERLIN: Two Afghan men linked to the Daesh group were jailed in Germany on Thursday for planning an attack on the Swedish parliament in retaliation for Qur'an burnings by protesters.
The two suspects, identified as Ibrahim M. G. and Ramin N., had allegedly tried but failed to buy guns for the plot.
They were found guilty of plotting to “kill members of parliament... in response to the burning of Qur'an in Sweden,” the higher regional court in Thuringia said in a statement.
Ibrahim M. G., 30, was sentenced to five years and six months in jail, and Ramin N., 24, received a sentence of four years and two months.
The defendants, who arrived in Germany in 2015 and 2016 respectively, were Daesh sympathizers who “shared the Daesh worldview and endorsed (its) violent approach,” the court said.
In August 2023, Ibrahim M. G. became a member of the Daesh-Khorasan (Daesh-K), an offshoot of Daesh, the court said.
The two men hatched a plot to “kill members of parliament and anyone who tried to stop the attack with firearms in the area of the Swedish parliament,” the court said.
They had searched the Internet for locations in Stockholm, how to travel to Sweden and how to acquire firearms.
They had also traveled to the Czech Republic to purchase firearms on the black market but the plan had fallen through.
They were arrested in the Gera area of eastern Germany in March 2024.
Both men were found guilty of plotting to commit a crime. Ibrahim M.G. was also convicted of being a member of a terrorist organization, and Ramin N. of supporting a terrorist organization.
Daesh-K was “an especially dangerous terrorist organization whose attacks and atrocities were known to and endorsed by the defendants,” the court said.
Prior to the plot, Ibrahim M. G. was also found to have arranged for 200 euros ($210) to be transferred to an Iranian bank account for the support of women and children of Daesh fighters at the Al-Hol camp in Syria.
Ibrahim M. G. made a full confession during the trial.
Islamist extremists have committed several attacks in Germany in recent years, the deadliest being a truck rampage at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that killed 12 people.
Islamist motives are also suspected in several recent stabbings and car ramming attacks blamed on migrants in Germany, which have led to a bitter debate on migration.
In October 2023, German prosecutors charged two Syrian brothers for planning an attack inspired by Daesh at a church in Sweden over Qur'an burnings.
A series of Qur'an burnings were held across Sweden in 2023, mainly by immigration opponents, sparking outrage in the Muslim world.