**TL;DR - To define rich is something that is quite subjective. However, large cooperations are not taxed enough** In the news recently we have seen the G7 countries unite in taxing global corporations in the wake of the financial crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a huge step in the right direction as the rich, in this case the Bezos and Gates of this world, should be taxed more. Now, it shouldn’t be mistaken that they’d deserve much of their fortune, and they deserve to be living a great lifestyle that the worked for. Nevertheless, you have to play your part by paying the correct amount of tax. The hypocrisy of the rich, for example Amazon, making many middle and working class pay for Prime accounts and spend their money on items they don’t need, whilst they also pay tax from their 9-5. At the same time, Amazon refuse to pay much to any tax as they continue to benefit. This cannot be fair, and this is why the [G7 decision] (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-57368247) is something to be embraced, in my opinion. What feels most unfair is not that the extremely rich have so much money that they don’t know how to spend, but that most have had a ‘good pandemic’. Those words seem oxymoronic however it is true. Using the same example, Amazon have had their already large profits increase by [220%] (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/technology/amazons-profits-triple.html) during the pandemic. This is just to prove that taxing the extremely rich to help the average person during an unprecedented disaster seems the morally, economically and financially right thing to do.

**Too high, too little, or just right?** • Tax is determined by how much money you earn or save – the rich are taxed at a higher rate than the poor. The money from taxes is used to benefit society and provide public services, such as education, healthcare, housing, museums, libraries, and road maintenance. • Some people believe that the rich are taxed too highly. In the UK, the [highest rate of tax is 60%](https://www.buzzacott.co.uk/insights/exposing-the-60-income-tax-rate) - which means that 60% of personal income is deducted and paid to the government. Some people believe that this rate is unfair, as it stands at over half of an individual’s earnings, perhaps disregarding their hard work for it. • Some argue that the rich are taxed a just amount. In the USA, [reports](https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/rich-are-taxed-enough) found that the taxes from the highest earning 1% of taxpayers made up almost 40% of all income taxes. In contrast, the taxes from the lowest earning 50% made up only 2% of income taxes. • Others believe that the rich [should be taxed at a higher rate](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/27/should-the-rich-be-taxed-more-a-new-paper-shows-unequivocally-yes) as they argue that, even with heavy taxes, the super-rich still have significantly more money than is possible for one person to need. Many have speculated that [certain billionaires]( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57383869) in the USA have actually paid a very low rate of tax, which they believe is unjust.

Very easy to prove wrong by just looking at the IRS The top 1% pays 40% of the US tax revenue, the top 10% pays 100% of the US tax revenue. Simple as that. I don't need to say anything else.

The only kind of tax that is even remotely just is tax that's equal in absolute terms. If you pay 1000$ of tax, I should also be paying 1000$ of tax; no more, no less. This is because we are both human and as such have equal rights and equal responsibilities. A potential difference in income doesn't change that and cannot be grounds for discrimination against rich people. (Furthermore, how much someone earns is most likely not strongly correlated with how much they benefit from government expenditures, so how much they pay to the government shouldn't be strongly correlated with the income either.) The current situation, in which rich people pay higher taxes, is caused by discrimination of the wealthy by a non-wealthy majority, who benefits from the wealth stolen from the rich. This is, of course, facilitated by democracy, which favours the majority over the inalienable rights of the minority. The general population has a negative opinion of the rich and, on top of that, either doesn't reflect upon what is truly just or simply wants to syphon off their wealth for the general population's selfish gains. Because wealthy people are such a small fraction of the society, their votes or influence don't swing elections, and as I have shown, very few non-wealthy people care about them. Thus, their rights can be outright ignored by politicians who desire to have even a remote chance of getting elected.

Tax is more than just income tax... there is a general trend where people who are on Universal Credit tend to buy more taxable goods (alcohol and tobacco). So although those products have good reason to be highly taxed it means that proportionally the poorer you are, the more of your money is spent as tax.