Peter Kavelaars, Professor of Economics of Taxation at Erasmus School of Economics, contributed to an article on tackling international tax avoidance by the NRC. Here, he gives his views on possible solutions and suggests a solution to tackle international tax evasion.
The Forbes had recently published an estimate showing the money the world's billionaires would collectively have: 14.2 thousand billion dollars. Following the publication, an old debate reopened in the second chamber. Now it even seems that a chamber majority would be in favour of a global tax for the super-rich, to combat tax evasion. After all, the very rich now all have opportunities to avoid high taxes, so they can move between different countries very easily. There is discussion not only in the Netherlands, but also at the global level there are more and more motions for a global tax or some other solution.
Kavelaars thinks many solutions currently being thought up are too complex. Many loopholes will probably be found again. This is also visible now with the profit tax. What Kavelaars proposes is a simpler solution, according to him. Namely, he proposes that each country should tax a return on capital at an equal tax rate. Then any country that does not cooperate would be blacklisted. It still causes problems, though, but there is a simpler solution this way. However, it will be some time before there are actual plans.
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You can download the article from NRC, 5 April 2024, above.