Wealth inequality has grown exponentially during the pandemic. What, if any, responsibility do the ultra-wealthy have to redress the balance? Business leader, philanthropist and Phones 4U founder John Caudwell talked to BBC News’ World Business Report about philanthropy and taxes.
Does John get annoyed when he hears about billionaires not paying their fair share? Yes, John said:
“It shows a total lack of humanitarian interest. If you boil it down, if somebody fiddles their tax – and I’m going to be quite strong on this point – they are killing a child. It really is as simple as that… The health service now needs a massive investment to save people’s lives from the neglect that’s gone over the past two years because of Covid. That service needs to be ramped up massively and for that you need money… If we don’t pay our taxes, we can’t afford it.”
He told presenter Aaron Heslehurst he feared for the long-term future of society caused by the difference between those with “massive opulent wealth” and those without: “You can see a situation where there’s a revolution in the future.”
Looking at those whose fortunes have skyrocketed specifically because of Covid, such as Jeff Bezos and Amazon, John reiterated his call for a windfall tax on excess profits.
