G20 leaders reached consensus Monday evening and issued a final statement in which they talk about taxes on the very rich, without specifying how this will be articulated or when it will be implemented. The document simply states that they are committed to supporting “progressive taxation” so that the wealthy in these countries pay more efficiently and contribute to the development of their country. Likewise, they pledged to “continue to address” Lula’s proposal, supported by Pedro Sánchez, to create a universal tax on the world’s greatest fortunes.
“With full respect for fiscal sovereignty, we will seek to cooperate to ensure that very wealthy individuals pay their taxes efficiently,” reads the declaration of the world’s largest economies, the result of the first day of the forum held in Rio de Janeiro and which ends this Tuesday.
The key to this proposition the Brazilian presidency of the G20with the aim of preventing large fortunes from evading taxes by moving them to tax havens. Lula’s intention is for countries to reach consensus on a convention or treaty that avoids this type of tax practices.
In this sense, the Brasilia initiative argues that if the approximately 3,300 richest people in the world paid a universal tax of 2% of their wealth in any country in the world, it would be possible to collect a year between 200,000 and 250,000 million dollars to help fight hunger, poverty and climate change, the three pillars on which this Rio convention is based.
“We look forward to continuing to discuss these issues at the G20 and other relevant forums, with technical input from relevant international organizations, universities and experts,” the leaders of the world’s largest economies said in their statement.
In itself, it seems that simply debating this issue within the G20 is already a “success” for the Brazilian presidency. Discussions on tax cooperation “could involve the sharing of best practices, the promotion of debates around tax principles and the design of mechanisms to combat tax evasion, in particular by tackling potentially harmful tax practices”, say the leaders.
The declaration consists of 85 points in which, in addition to talking about taxation, a slight reflection is made, without clear objectives and with very ambiguous language on how to resolve the two conflicts that, today, maintain international relations in tensions that have never been. been observed since the Cold War.
The wars in Gaza and Ukraine, without names
In the statement, the group expressed “deep concern” over what it called a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the Gaza Strip and the escalation of violence in Lebanon, both places bombed and victims of invasions by the Israeli army. for over a year.
In the case of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the document highlights “human suffering” and its negative effects in terms of global food and energy security, as well as supply chains, global macro-financial stability, inflation and growth.
“We welcome all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a global, just and lasting peace, with respect for all Purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations for the promotion of peaceful, friendly and good neighborly relations between nations,” they declare.
What is remarkable about all this is that at no point is Russia named, even though the G7 lobbied for it to appear. But the emerging powers, led by Brazil, wanted the two conflicts to be put without names or first names because, in the case of Gaza and Lebanon, if Israel was cited as responsible, the United States would have vetoed the declaration. common.
What they emphasized was the “urgent need” to increase the flow of humanitarian aid “to protect civilians”, but without mentioning the perpetrators.
Milei, spokesperson for Donald Trump
Argentine President Javier Milei aligns himself with United States President-elect Donald Trump on the Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, he concluded that the G20 “is in crisis”
The Argentine libertarian approved the G20 declaration, but with reservations. He rejected all provisions related to the United Nations 2030 Agenda and also rejected taxes on the super-rich.
When he spoke in plenary session, he made it clear that he would sign the document despite his unfavorable positions on different aspects. This is a diplomatic strategy already used in other conventions of the group, which helps maintain the unity of the G20 while leaders can express their disagreement with the pact.
Thus, in two statements published by Casa Rosada, the Argentine government assured that it had signed “for the first time” the joint declaration “by partially dissociating itself from any content linked to the 2030 Agenda”.
Regarding armed conflicts, the libertarian cabinet assures the following: “Argentina considers that the world is going through a moment of serious danger in terms of international security, with violations of the territorial integrity of certain nations, such as Ukraine, and with actions that expressly call for the disappearance of the State of Israel.”
Concerning the tax on large fortunes and the eradication of poverty, the libertarian declared in plenary session, in front of all the leaders, that “whether by malice or by ignorance, the majority of modern governments have insisted on fallacy that “fighting hunger” and poverty requires greater state intervention.
For the Argentine president, “capitalism is enough”, since “the free market has already lifted 90% of the world’s population out of extreme poverty”. A statement which is paradoxical as the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, one of his main ideological references, intends to impose customs tariffs and limit world trade.
As for the outgoing President of the United States, Joe Biden, he was completely absent. The leader arrived late for the family photo and then retired to the hotel, absent from the second debate session on the reform of international organizations.
