Photographer: Jason Alden / Bloomberg
Photographer: Jason Alden / Bloomberg
Bill Gates is in favor of raising some taxes, but says some proposals seem to go too far.
The government “needs to do more: health costs, pandemic recovery, climate investments, foreign aid generosity,” the billionaire said Friday during a “Ask Me Anything” question and answer session on Reddit. “So I’ve pushed for higher taxes. I haven’t agreed with some proposals that seem to go too far.”
The co-founder of Microsoft Corp. described the taxes as “significant,” but did not mention any tax proposals during the exchange.
His comments follow a series of propose wealth taxes at the state and national levels. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposed the Ultra Millionaire Tax Act this month, which would apply a 2% annual tax to homes and trusts valued at between $ 50 billion and $ 1 billion. According to a Bloomberg analysis, all net worth in excess of $ 1 billion would be taxed at 3% and would cost the 100 richest Americans about $ 78 billion. It is unlikely that the bill will go far in a closely divided Congress.
Read: Bill Gates criticizes Warren’s wealth tax plan
Gates is the third richest person in the world with a fortune of $ 138 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index. He has previously called for raising taxes on the rich to address rising inequality, including blog post in late 2019 that suggested closing gaps and raising capital gains tax so that it is equal to the rate of labor income. He told the Reddit forum that raising property taxes can be an effective tool to increase income and prevent dynastic wealth.
During the forum, he also expressed doubts about the introduction of a universal basic income, an idea that has gained some support during the pandemic and was promoted by Andrew Yang during his long presidential term.
“We’re getting richer as we innovate, but I wonder if we’re rich enough to deter people capable of working,” Gates said. “Over time we have been more generous and we will be more generous. The discussion on this is very interesting, but it comes down to figures. “
Other topics covered include:
- Cryptography mining:
- “I have a lot of problems with anonymous money transfer compared to assigned systems where transactions can be disputed and reversed and taxes are paid. The use of electricity is just a problem. We need digital money but without this overhead ”.
- Misinformation, misinformation and fake news:
- “Some false information is more interesting than the truth, so digital channels seem to magnify echo cameras with bad facts. I haven’t seen as much creativity about how we fix this as we need to.”
- Climate denial:
- “It simply came to our notice then. Now oil companies have stopped funding these things, so I think the denial of the climate will diminish. There are problems with how we reduce emissions, but I hope all young people agree that it is a critical goal. “
- If nothing is done about climate change, “it gets worse over time and natural ecosystems disappear. Migration outside the unlivable areas of the equator will be massive. We will not be able to support a large population if it heats up a lot ”.
- By achieving net net emissions in 2050:
- “There is more public support for taking big steps to prevent a climate disaster than ever before. It’s inspiring to see governments and companies around the world set ambitious targets to reduce emissions. The world’s inventing power makes me optimistic.”
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