Coronavirus tax

As a global scourge, the coronavirus has destroyed the entire world economy. In the history of previous crises, some benefited from the markets. Some were losing, some were winning. Some companies were losing market share, while others were successfully overcoming the crisis. As they say, crises were a loss for some and an opportunity for others. However, the same cannot be said about the current global crisis that emerged due to the coronavirus.

Professor of Economics, Daron Acemoğlu, described the crisis in a very clear way at the seminar "Coronavirus and its impact on the global economy": "Companies in the world will go bankrupt in every recession, others will continue. In the United States, for example, an average of 3 out of 100 companies have been bankrupt after each recession. But now the situation has dug down deep. Companies do not just go bankrupt from the economic point of view, other companies affected by the weak links in the supply chain are also starting to go bankrupt.” This means that classifications such as large or small, strong or weak are not valid among companies that are going bankrupt. Just as it does not matter who is in which part of a ship when a ship sinks, it does not matter whether the companies have any market-related presence during a COVID-19 pandemic.

The business world, which is always getting richer at the expense of consumer incomes when the world economy goes bankrupt, should probably be more concerned about this. If almost half of the world does not go out of home and does not contribute to the economy, then these rich people should be even more worried. Because the business world, which is considered the locomotive of economies, is seriously affected by this. What production can exist where there is no consumption of goods and services? If the global supply chain is broken, about which revenue channel can we talk?

There is no single owner of the world. There are owners. Among the components of global powers are the richest people in the business world. There are also areas, to which they lay claims, in the world. They are very worried about the course of events in the world. Therefore, among the people who are more concerned are also rich people, whose names are in the Forbes 100 Richest People in the World.

The first concerns about the coronavirus in the world came from Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and one of the richest people in the world. He strongly criticized the Trump administration for its role in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States: “Unfortunately, since our behavior and tracking of the virus is ineffective, its scale continues to grow. And it's very embarrassing. Our response to the epidemic has disappointed me.”

The call of the rich: impose a coronavirus wealth tax on us!

            Later, the episodic worries of the world's richest people were replaced by choruses. The world's richest people (over 80) have called on governments to come together in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and introduce a new tax policy for the richest. Calling themselves "Millionaires for Humanity", the group wrote an open letter to governments saying they were willing to pay part of their wealth voluntarily to support the fight against the pandemic. Their letters contain quite impressive points: “As COVID-19 strikes the world, millionaires like us have a critical role to play in healing our world. No, we are not the ones caring for the sick in intensive care wards. We are not driving the ambulances that will bring the ill to hospitals. We are not restocking grocery store shelves or delivering food door to door. But we do have money, lots of it. Money that is desperately needed now and will continue to be needed in the years ahead, as our world recovers from this crisis.”

Following the appeal, government officials in Britain's financial sector stressed that high taxes are inevitable and should cover not only the rich but also many sectors. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the government would impose higher taxes that month. Russian officials clearly stated that they would target high-income people.

At the end of the appeal of the “Millionaires for Humanity”, there is a message of generosity, a mission of service to humanity: “... Money that is desperately needed now.” Because these rich people are aware that money can be earned when everyone can live well. It is impossible to find money in places where everyone is lost and walks carefully in "mined areas".

Also, money is valuable when it is used for sacred purposes. When it saves you from trials in difficult situations. When it is an ointment in case that you are in pain.

There are also messages to businessmen in Azerbaijan from here. Companies have concepts of corporate social responsibility. They have such an obligation to express their reputation in public at critical moments. You have a responsibility to be an economic "human being" just like getting those who are stuck in a difficult situation out of trouble. Commercial banks must take into account not only the pragmatic interests of savage capitalism but also the humanistic values. Do not connect everything with the regulatory decisions of the Central Bank! We are also aware that you are not a commercial organization, not a charity. But your customers aren't foolishly delaying payments. In the absence of markets, they face objective difficulties in fulfilling their obligations. If you still do not give your customers a "way out", will you give them when the wolf eats you? Is there a color darker than black? Is there a day harder than the pandemic?