The US supports the proposal to tax the super-rich, but rules out that this issue could be included in an international agreement, said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is participating in a G20 meeting in Brazil, today.
“We will work with Brazil on this proposal before the G20, but it is difficult to have international coordination on tax policy and we see no need to negotiate a global agreement on the subject,” said the head of the United States Treasury.
Janet Yellen, who is participating in the meeting of finance ministers of the G20 countries, which began on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, said at a press conference that the imposition of taxes to tax the super-rich is an issue that must be be addressed individually by each country and admitted that the United States also thought about it.
“All countries must take steps to make their tax systems fair and progressive,” she said.
The Treasury secretary added that the US is one of the countries that “strongly” supports progressive taxation and wants to ensure that rich, high-income people pay more taxes.
“The United States has a project underway in this regard, which provides a tax rate for millionaires. It is an important initiative, which is worthwhile and which many countries can adopt”, said Janet Yellen.
The Brazilian Government, which this year presides over the G20, proposed to the forum that brings together the 20 largest economies in the world the creation of a tax on the income of the super-rich to finance global projects to combat poverty, hunger and climate change. .
According to Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, the richest people in the world use a series of tricks to avoid paying taxes, which means they end up paying proportionally less than the poorest.
A study commissioned by Brazil indicated that, if the almost 3,300 billionaires in the world paid the equivalent of 2% of their wealth in taxes, it would be possible to raise up to 250 billion dollars (230 billion euros) annually.
The coordinator of the meeting of G20 finance ministers, Brazilian ambassador Tatiana Rosito, reaffirmed today that negotiators made progress on three documents, one of which, unprecedented, on international cooperation in fiscal matters and which includes the proposal to create a tax on super-rich, but declined to comment on Janet Yellen’s statements or give details about the documents produced by the technical team negotiators.
Portugal Рwhich was invited, like Angola, by the Brazilian presidency to be an observer member of the G20 Рis represented at the event by the Secretary of State for European Affairs, In̻s Domingos (Ministerial Development Meeting), by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel ( meeting of the G20 Task Force for the Establishment of a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty) and by the Deputy Secretary of State and Budget, Jos̩ Maria Branḍo de Brito (G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Presidents).
In Fortaleza, between today and Friday, the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, will be the Portuguese representative at the meeting of the Working Group on Employment.
The Brazilian Government’s priorities for this G20 presidency are the fight against hunger, poverty and inequality, sustainable development and global governance reform.
The G20 is made up of the 10 main economies in the world: United States, China, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, India, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey, and also by the European Union and the African Union.
Brazil, which has held the presidency of the G20 since the first day of December 2023, invited Portugal, Angola, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Nigeria, Norway and Singapore to observe the organization, as well as the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP).
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