The Covid-19 Outbreak and the Need for Wealth Tax

Yıl 2021, Cilt: 5 Sayı: 1, 95 - 131, 26.06.2021

Mustafa Durmuş

https://doi.org/10.30586/pek.931987

Cited By: 2

Öz

The world was caught by Covid-19 Pandemic at a time when economic growth was slowing and ecological crises were manifesting themselves. On one hand the pandemic exposed the gross insufficiency of the world’s health infrastructure and the magnitude of inequality, on the other hand it led to a deepened economic crisis. Consequently, unemployment and poverty increased immensely on a global scale. The unprecedented fiscal and monetary policies which were put into action to tackle the pandemic, led to significant deficit and state borrowing in the nation states’ budgets and to an increase in their debt stock. As a result of these developments progressive wealth tax which had been out of the limelight for some time came back to the agenda. While it was Argentina which applied such a wealth tax first, this tax continues to be discussed in developed economies including the US. This study discusses the aspects of progressive wealth tax both in the world and Turkey.

Anahtar Kelimeler

wealth tax, income distribution, Covid-19, fiscal support

Covid-19 Salgını ve Servet Vergisi İhtiyacı

Öz

Dünya Covid-19 Salgınına ekonomik büyümenin yavaşladığı ve ekolojik krizlerin kendini gösterdiği bir dönemde yakalandı. Salgın bir yandan dünyadaki sağlık alt yapısının ne denli yetersiz ve eşitsizliklerin ne kadar büyük boyutlarda olduğunu gösterirken, diğer yandan da derin bir ekonomik krize neden oldu. Bunun sonucunda küresel çapta olmak üzere işsizlik ve yoksulluk devasa biçimde arttı. Salgınla mücadelede daha önce görülmemiş boyutlarda maliye ve para politikası önlemlerine başvurulurken, bu durum ulus devletlerin bütçelerinde ciddi açıklara ve devlet borçlanmasında ve borç stoklarında artışlara yol açtı. Bu gelişmelerin sonucunda bir süredir gündemden kalkmış olan artan oranlı servet vergisi yeniden gündeme geldi. İlk olarak Arjantin böyle bir servet vergisi uygulaması başlatırken, başta ABD olmak üzere gelişkin ekonomilerde bu vergi tartışılmaya devam ediyor. Bu çalışmada dünyada olduğu kadar Türkiye’de artan oranlı bir servet vergisinin değişik veçheleri ele alınmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Covid-19, Pandemi, Servet Vergisi

Kaynakça

• 3 Şubat 2021 Tarihli 3490 ve 3491 Sayılı Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kararları, https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr (6 Şubat 2021).
• 2021 Yılı Cumhurbaşkanlığı Yıllık Programı, 2020.
• 2021 Yılı Merkezi Yönetim Bütçesi ve 2021 Yılı Sağlık Bakanlığı Bütçesi.
• Alberola, Enrique., Arslan, Yavuz., Cheng, Gong and Moessner, Richhild. “The fiscal response to the Covid-19 crisis in advanced and emerging market economies”, www.bis.org (17 June 2020.
• Anderson, Julia., Bergamini, Enrico., Brekelmans, Sybrand., Cameron, Aliénor., Darvas, Zsolt., Domínguez Jíménez, Marta., Lenaerts, Klaas., Midões, Catarina. “The fiscal response to the economic fallout from the coronavirus”, https://www.bruegel.org (24 November 2020).
• Aramonte, Sirio. “Mind the buybacks, beware of the leverage”, BIS Quarterly Review (September 2020), https://www.bis.org (14 September 2020).
• Bayar, Ayşe Aylin., Günçavdı, Öner., Levent, Haluk. Covid-19 Salgınının Türkiye’de Gelir Dağılımına Etkisi ve Mevcut Politika Seçenekleri, İstanbul Politik Araştırmalar Enstitüsü (İstanpol) Politika Raporu (Nisan 2020-007).
• Bateman, Milford. “Towards community-owned and controlled finance for local economic development”, in Public Finance, https://longreads.tn.org (9 Şubat 2021).
• BDDK, Mevduat- türler itibarıyla, dönem 2020/11 https://www.bddk.org.tr/BultenAylik (1 Şubat 2021).
• Camille Landais, Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman, “A progressive European wealth tax to fund the European COVID response”, https://voxeu.org/article/progressive-european-wealth-tax-fund-european-covid-response (3 April 2020).
• Chandrasekhar, C. P. and Ghosh, Jayati. “Covid Debt and the Tax Paradigm”, https://www.networkideas.org (20 October 2020).
• Collord, Michaela. "The old ideas are collapsing": an interview with Gar Alperovitz, https://www.opendemocracy.net (5 June 2020).
• “Covid: Argentina passes tax on wealthy to pay for virus measures”, https://www.bbc.com/news (5 December 2020).
• Credit Suisse, Research Institute, Global Wealth Databook 2019 (October 2019).
• Credit Suisse Research Institute, Global wealth report 2020 (October 2020), https://www.credit-suisse.com (5 December 2020).
• Derin Yoksulluk Ağı, “Pandemide Derin Yoksullukla Mücadele, Kasım 2020”, DYA-Pandemide-Derin-Yoksullukla-Mücadelederinyoksullukagi.org (13 Ocak 2021).
• DİSK-AR, “Salgın günlerinde asgari ücret gerçeği araştırması”, http://disk.org.tr/2020/12.
• DİSK-AR, “Covid-19 döneminde Türkiye’de dolar milyarderlerinin serveti 15 milyar dolar arttı”, http://arastirma.disk.org.tr (7 Nisan 2021).
• Durmuş Mustafa, “Son IMF raporundaki Türkiye gerçeği”, https://mustafadurmusblog.blogspot.com (28 Haziran 2020).
• Elliott, Larry and Stewart, Heather. “IMF: higher taxes for rich will cut inequality without hitting growth”, https://www.theguardian.com (11 October 2017).
• Gale, William G. “Saez and Zucman Say Everything You Thought You Knew About Tax Policy Is Wrong”, https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox (23 October 2019).
• Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı, 6802 Sayılı Gider Vergisi Kanunu, Madde 39, https://www.gib.gov.tr/gibmevzuat (2 Şubat 2021).
• Ghosh, Jayati. Understanding Global Inequality in the 21st Century, http://www.networkideas.org (20 July 2019).
• Grazielle David, Pedro Rossi, Sergio Chaparro, “Human rights and fiscal policy: a necessary link”, https://www.worldeconomicsassociation.org (8 September 2020).
• Hazine ve Maliye Bakanlığı, Değerli Konutlar Vergisi Uygulama Genel Tebliği, Resmî Gazete 15 Ocak 2021, Sayı 31365.
• Hickel, Jason “We can’t have billionaires and stop climate change”, https://thecorrespondent.com (9 October 2020).
• Hope, David and Limberg, Julian, “The economic consequences of major tax cuts for the rich”, International Inequalities Institute Working Papers (55) LSE, London, UK, 2020.
• https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/one-trillion-reasons-windfall-tax (28 December 2020).
• https://ailevecalisma.gov.tr (18 Nisan 2021).
• https://wid.world/news-article/newsletter-february-2021 (12 Şubat 2021).
• https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-a-surtax-on-multimillionaires-income-is-better-than-a-wealth-tax (9 November 2019).
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/12/29/coronavirus-2020-the-big-one-who-pandemics.
• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-06/tax-code-changes-wealth-taxes-considered-from-california-to-german (6 January 2021).
• https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/musk-close-to-surpassing-bezos-as-world-s-richest-person (6 January 2021).
• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-08/top-50-richest-people-in-the-us-are-worth-as-much-as-poorest-165-million (8 October 2020).
• https://www.bloomberght.com/ozel-iletisim-vergisi-yuzde-10-a-yukseltildi (30 Ocak 2021).
• https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/new-global-index-shows-catastrophic-failure-tackle-inequality-left-majority-worlds (8 October 2020).
• https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/new-global-index-shows-cat https://americansfortaxfairness.org (8 Aralık 2020).
• https://www.mcknsey.com/ndustres/publc-sector/our-nsghts/the-10-trllon-dollar-rescue-how-governments-can-delver-mpact (5 June 2020).
• https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/02/amid-warnings-surging-worldwide-poverty-planets-500-richest-people-added-18-trillion.
• https://evonomics.com/why-billionaires-destroy-democracy-and-capitalism (26 November 2020).
• https://www.ekonomist.com.tr/borsa/borsa-sirketlerinin-piyasa-degeri (28 Ocak 2021)
• https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr kurtlerin-yuzde-632si-aclik-sinirinda-kadinlarin-yuzde-871’i-issiz (7 Mart 2020).
• http://www.turkis.org.tr/MART-2021-ACLIK-VE-YOKSULLUK-SINIRI (26 Mart 2021).
• https://www.sabah.com.tr/ekonomi/2020/10/04/turkiyede-milyoner-sayisinda-buyuk-artis (4 Ekim 2020).
• ICRICT, The global pandemic, sustainable economic recovery and international taxation (May 2020).
• İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi İstanbul İstatistik Ofisi, “İstanbul'da Kent Yoksulluğu Araştırması, Mayıs 2020”, https://istatistik.istanbul/bulten (21 Mayıs 2020).
• Kuruvilla, Benny. “Kerela’a web of cooperatives: Advancing teh solidarity economy”, Public Finance for the Future We Want, Amsterdam: Transnational Institute et al, (June 2019), https://longreads.tn.org (9 Şubat 2021).
• Lansley, S. and McCann, D., ‘Citizens’ Wealth Funds: A powerful new economic and social instrument’, in Public Finance, https://longreads.tn.org (9 Şubat 2021). Li, Huaqun., Smith, Karl. “Analysis of Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders’Wealth Tax Plans”, https://files.taxfoundation.org (January 2020).
• McMullen, Antony. “The pandemic we have to have”, https://probonoaustralia.com.au (2 June 2020).
• OECD Tax Policy Studies, The Role and Design of Net Wealth Taxes in the OECD, No. 26, https://www.oecd.org (12 April 2018).
• Patnaik, Prabhat. “The protracted crisis of capitalism”, https://mronline.org (8 September 2020).
• Picard, Séverine.“Fair corporate taxation: why and how international tax rules need to be changed”, European Economic, Employment and Social Policy (ETUI) Policy Brief No.14/2020.
• Piketty, Thomas. Capital in the Twenty-First Century (translated by Arthur Goldhammer), The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014.
• Porter, Eduardo. “Tax Cuts, Sold as Fuel for Growth, Widen Gap Between Rich and Poor”, https://www.nytimes.com (3 October 2017).
• Rasmus, Jack. “Why tax cuts don’t and won’t create jobs?”, Working In These Times, http://brechtforum.org (6 December 2010).
• Roberts, Michael. “Debt disaster with no escape”, https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com (12 October 2020).
• Saez, Emmanuel., Zucman, Gabriel. The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2019.
• Saez, Emmanuel Gabriel Zucman, “Progressive Wealth Taxation”, BPEA Conference Drafts, September 5–6, 2019).
• Tax Justice UK, Talking tax: How to win support for taxing wealth, https://www.taxjustice.uk (September 2020).
• T.C. Merkez Bankası, Menkul Kıymet İstatistikleri, https://www.tcmb.gov.tr (1 Şubat 2021).
• The World Bank, “Global Action Urgently Needed to Halt Historic Threats to Poverty Reduction”, https://www.worldbank.org (7 October 2020).
• Williams, Raymond. Resources of Hope, Culture, Democracy, Socialism, Verso Books, 1989, s.118.
• Wolff, Richard D. “Why Taxing the Rich Makes Sense?”, http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org (2 March 2011).