An angry historian ripped the ultrarich over tax avoidance at Davos. Then one was given the mic.; The Washington Post, January 31, 2019

Eli Rosenberg, The Washington Post; An angry historian ripped the ultrarich over tax avoidance at Davos. Then one was given the mic.

"Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian and author who studies poverty and global inequality, had a first this year: being invited to the world’s most prominent gathering of wealthy people — the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Switzerland — as a speaker...

[Bregman]...decided to say something during the panel discussion about income inequality he was on, hosted by Time magazine on Friday. He started by saying that he found the conference’s mix of indulgence and global problem-solving a bit bewildering.

“I mean 1,500 private jets have flown in here to hear Sir David Attenborough speak about how we’re wrecking the planet," he said. "I hear people talking the language of participation and justice and equality and transparency. But then almost no one raises the real issue of tax avoidance. And of the rich just not paying their fair share. It feels like I’m at a firefighters conference and no one is allowed to speak about water.

“This is not rocket science,” he said. “We can talk for a very long time about all these stupid philanthropy schemes, we can invite Bono once more, but, come on, we got to be talking about taxes. That’s it. Taxes, taxes, taxes — all the rest is bulls---, in my opinion.”

Obama calls for international tax reform amid Panama Papers revelations; Guardian, 4/5/16

Rupert Neate and David Smith, Guardian; Obama calls for international tax reform amid Panama Papers revelations:

"Barack Obama has called for international tax reform in the wake of the revelations contained in the Panama Papers.

“There is no doubt that the problem of global tax avoidance generally is a huge problem,” he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “The problem is that a lot of this stuff is legal, not illegal.”

The US president said the leak from Panama illustrated the scale of tax avoidance involving Fortune 500 companies and running into trillions of dollars worldwide.

“We shouldn’t make it legal to engage in transactions just to avoid taxes,” he added, praising instead “the basic principle of making sure everyone pays their fair share”.

Obama described the Panama revelations as “important stuff” and highlighted the impact upon ordinary citizens, adding that “a lot of these loopholes come at the expense of middle-class families, because that lost revenue has to be made up somewhere.

“Alternatively, it means that we’re not investing as much as we should in schools, in making college more affordable, in putting people back to work rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our infrastructure, creating more opportunities for our children.”"