Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans

Level 2 Intermediate
1 Warmer
How would you describe the amount of tax you pay? (far) too much / about right / (far) too little What about the amount of tax that extremely rich people in your country pay? How would you describe that?

2 Key words
Write the key words from the article next to the definitions. The paragraph numbers are given to help you. income investment reform wealth tax staff well-off the wealthy assets tax return cuts treasury inherited

1. the government department responsible for a countrys financial matters ___________________________ (para 2) 2. a special tax for people who are very rich ___________________________ (para 4) 3. rich, or having enough money to live well ___________________________ (para 5) 4. things such as money or property that a person or company owns ___________________________ (para 6) 5. given to someone when the previous owner (possibly a family member) died ___________________________ (para 6) 6. reductions in something; savings ___________________________ (para 9) 7. rich people ___________________________ (para 9) 8. changes in the law to correct a situation that is wrong or unfair, or make a system work more effectively ___________________________ (para 12) 9. the amount of money you get from working or from investing money ___________________________ (para 17) 10. the people who work for a particular company, organization or institution ___________________________ (para 16) 11. money used in a way that may earn you more money, for example money used for buying property or shares in a company ___________________________ (para 17) 12. an official document on which you give details of your income so that the government can calculate the amount of tax that you have to pay ___________________________ (para 17)

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

CA

P H

N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D

Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans

Level 2 Intermediate
3 Find the information
Scan the article and find information to complete the gaps in the table. name Warren Buffett nationality ___________________ source of wealth business investments other information paid $_____________ tax in 2010 Frances _____________ woman one of a group of _____________ Germans suggesting a wealth tax thinks the government should not ask the _____________ to pay more money

Liliane Bettencourt

___________________

LOral heiress

Dieter Lehmkuhl

___________________

probably ___________________

Luca di Montezemolo

___________________

___________________ of Ferrari

5 Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

CA

P H

N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D

Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans

Level 2 Intermediate

1

Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans

German group is the latest to volunteer for higher contributions, saying the country could raise 100 billion in two years with a 5% wealth tax Helen Pidd in Berlin 29 August, 2011 First the American Warren Buffett announced that he and his friends had received special treatment long enough from a Congress that is too friendly to billionaires. Then Liliane Bettencourt, Frances richest woman, signed a letter with 15 other billionaires asking to pay more to the treasury to help rescue France from the financial crisis.

I would say to Merkel that the way to solve Germanys financial problems is not to introduce cuts, which will make poorer people suffer more than rich people, but to tax the wealthy more, said Lehmkuhl. We often hear about cuts, but never tax rises. But tax increases are a way out of this mess. Thats where the money is: rich people. Something must be done to stop the gap between rich and poor getting even bigger. In France, Nicolas Sarkozy suggested a similar idea: a temporary tax on the very rich 3% on taxable earnings for people earning above 500,000. It will probably only last until 2013. In Italy, too, one of the countrys richest citizens has offered to pay more tax but only if Silvio Berlusconis government makes some changes. Luca di Montezemolo, the multimillionaire Ferrari Chairman, made his offer in an interview with the centre-left newspaper La Repubblica. Montezemolo, 63, said you have to begin by asking the richest to pay more money, because it is terrible that we should ask the middle class, he said. In Spain, the socialist government is thinking about the reintroduction of a wealth tax. Experts say the tax on assets, not including a first residence, would earn more than 1 billion from just 50,000 rich individuals. In the US, Buffett said in The New York Times that he felt bad because he only paid $6.9 million in tax in 2010, 17.4% of his taxable income, while his staff paid an average of 36%. He suggested income and investment tax rates should be increased for people earning more than $1 million in taxable income, which is 0.2% of people who filed tax returns in 2009. The article was strongly criticized.
N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D

10

11 2

12 3 Even an Italian got involved the chairman of Ferrari said that, because he was rich, it was only right that he pay more money. 13 4 Now, as both France and Spain consider introducing a wealth tax, a group of 50 rich Germans have asked Angela Merkel to stop the gap between rich and poor getting even bigger.

14

The German group is the latest example of the feeling among some well-off people that the spare money in their bank accounts might be able to 15 reduce, if not solve, the financial crises that are damaging their countries. None of us are as rich as Buffett or Bettencourt, said the founder, Dieter Lehmkuhl, a retired doctor with assets of 1.5 million. Were teachers, 16 doctors, entrepreneurs. Most of our wealth is inherited. But we have more money than we need. The group says that Germany could raise 100 billion if the richest paid a 5% wealth tax for two years. Lehmkuhl said he was asking Merkels government to rethink its taxes. Currently, the richest Germans are taxed a maximum of 42%. 17

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

CA

P H

Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans

Level 2 Intermediate
18 Harvey Golub, former Chief Executive of American Express, told The Wall Street Journal: Before you ask for more tax money from me and others, raise the $2.2 trillion you already collect each year more fairly and spend it more wisely.

Additional reporting by Angelique Chrisafis, John Hooper, Giles Tremlett and Dominic Rushe
Guardian News and Media 2011 First published in The Guardian, 29/08/11

4 Understanding the article

Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the article? 1. Some of the richest people in the world have offered to pay extra tax to help rescue their countries from the financial crisis. 2. A group of 50 rich Germans wrote a letter to their government saying they pay too much tax. 3. France has already introduced a wealth tax. 4. The current maximum tax rate in Germany is 42%. 5. In the US, Warren Buffett paid less tax (%) than many of his staff in 2010. 6. Spain used to have a wealth tax but it was cancelled. 7. The former Chief Executive of American Express says his government should spend the taxes that they already collect more wisely instead of introducing a new wealth tax.

5 Key collocations
Match the words to make key collocations from the article and then use them to summarize the article. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. financial wealth strongly middle tax temporary taxable richest a. criticized b. class c. tax d. tax e. crisis f. earnings g. citizens h. increases

6 Discussion
What does Lehmkuhl mean when he says: Something must be done to stop the gap between rich and poor getting even bigger. Do you think that a wealth tax is the answer to the financial problems in Europe and the US?

7 Webquest
Go to www.forbes.com, select Lists in the menu and click on Worlds Billionaires. Answer the questions below. Who are the wealthiest people in ... ... the world? ... the USA? ... Italy? ... Spain? ... Germany? ... your country? ... France?

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

CA

P H

N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D

Where does their wealth come from? What nationality are they and where do they live? What further information can you find out about the wealthy people mentioned in the article?

Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans

Level 2 Intermediate KEY

2 Key words
1. treasury 2. wealth tax 3. well-off 4. assets 5. inherited 6. cuts 7. the wealthy 8. reform 9. income 10. staff 11. investment 12. tax return

4 Understanding the article

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. T F F T T T T

5 Key collocations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. e c/d a b h c/d f g

3 Find the information

name Warren Buffett Liliane Bettencourt nationality American French source of wealth business investments other information paid $6.9 million in tax in 2010 Frances richest woman one of a group of 50 (rich) Germans suggesting a wealth tax thinks the government should not ask the middle class to pay more money

LOral heiress

Dieter Lehmkuhl

German

probably mostly inherited

Luca di Montezemolo

Italian

chairman of Ferrari

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

CA

P H

N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D