NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011
Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans
Level 2 Intermediate
Warmer 1
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?
1. the government department responsible for a countrys fnancial 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 offcial 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)

Key words 2
Write the key words from the article next to the defnitions. The paragraph numbers are given to help you.
income wealth tax the wealthy cuts
investment staff assets treasury
reform well-off tax return inherited
NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011
Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans
Level 2 Intermediate
Find the information
3
Scan the article and fnd information to complete the gaps in the table.
name nationality source of wealth other information
Warren Buffett ___________________ business investments
paid
$_____________ tax
in 2010
Liliane Bettencourt ___________________ LOral heiress
Frances
_____________
woman
Dieter Lehmkuhl ___________________
probably
___________________
one of a group of
_____________
Germans suggesting a
wealth tax
Luca di
Montezemolo
___________________

___________________
of Ferrari
thinks the government
should not ask the
_____________ to pay
more money
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NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011
Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans
Level 2 Intermediate
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 fnancial crisis.
Even an Italian got involved the chairman of
Ferrari said that, because he was rich, it was only
right that he pay more money.
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.
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
reduce, if not solve, the fnancial 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,
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%.
I would say to Merkel that the way to solve
Germanys fnancial 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 frst
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 fled tax returns in 2009. The article was
strongly criticized.

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NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011
Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans
Level 2 Intermediate

Understanding the article 4
Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the article?

Key collocations 5

Discussion 6
Match the words to make key collocations from the article and then use them to summarize the article.
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 fnancial problems in Europe and the US?
1. Some of the richest people in the world have offered to pay extra tax to help rescue their countries from the
fnancial 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.
1. fnancial
2. wealth
3. strongly
4. middle
5. tax
6. temporary
7. taxable
8. richest
a. criticized
b. class
c. tax
d. tax
e. crisis
f. earnings
g. citizens
h. increases
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? ... Germany? ... France?
... Italy? ... Spain? ... your country?
Where does their wealth come from?
What nationality are they and where do they live?
What further information can you fnd out about the wealthy people mentioned in the article?

Webquest 7
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 Chrisafs,
John Hooper, Giles Tremlett and Dominic Rushe

Guardian News and Media 2011
First published in The Guardian, 29/08/11
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NEWS LESSONS / Tax us more, say wealthy Europeans / Intermediate

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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011
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
3 Find the information

4 Understanding the article
1. T
2. F
3. F
4. T
5. T
6. T
7. T
5 Key collocations
1. e
2. c/d
3. a
4. b
5. h
6. c/d
7. f
8. g
name nationality source of wealth other information
Warren Buffett American business investments
paid $6.9 million in
tax in 2010
Liliane Bettencourt French

LOral heiress
Frances richest
woman
Dieter Lehmkuhl German
probably
mostly inherited
one of a group of 50
(rich) Germans
suggesting a
wealth tax

Luca di
Montezemolo
Italian

chairman
of Ferrari
thinks the government
should not ask the
middle class to pay
more money