Abigail Disney, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 30, 2019.
Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Disney heiress Abigail Disney is among the millionaires calling for governments to impose higher taxes on the wealthy to help fund the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
“Tax us. Tax us. Tax us,” an open letter from the group calling itself “Millionaires for Humanity” read.
The 83 signatories on the letter also included Abigail’s brother Tim, Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield, as well as British movie director Richard Curtis.
The letter stated that the problems caused and revealed by the pandemic could not be solved with charity, “no matter how generous,” and that governments must take responsibility for raising the funds needed to tackle the issues themselves.
“We can ensure we adequately fund our health systems, schools, and security through a permanent tax increase on the wealthiest people on the planet, people like us,” it said.
The millionaires said a “huge debt” was owed to those working on the frontline of the pandemic and highlighted that essential workers were “grossly underpaid for the burden they carry.”
The signatories said that while they weren’t the ones caring for the sick, restocking grocery store shelves or delivering food, they could provide the money needed by the world as it recovers from the crisis.
They warned of the need to “rebalance our world before it is to late. There will not be another chance to get this right.”
“Unlike tens of millions of people around the world, we do not have to worry about losing our jobs, our homes, or our ability to support our families,” the signatories continued, adding that they were also much less likely to be the victims of this health emergency.
There have been over 12.9 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide, while 569,697 people have died from the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
It’s not the first time this group have called for higher taxes on the world’s wealthy. They also brought their message to the World Economic Forum in January, with a letter titled “Millionaires Against Pitchforks.”
The latest letter comes as the world’s richest people have seen their net worth increase by more than 50% amid the pandemic, while UN data warned that the coronavirus could push around half a billion more people into poverty.