Taxing the 22,000 Palestinian millionaires just 3% would solve the Palestinian budget deficit

Excerpt of a column by Ramzi Oudeh, regular columnist for the official PA daily

Headline: “Impose taxes on us, the rich, and now!”

“A number of unofficial sources estimate the number of millionaires in Palestine to be at approximately 22,000. If a tax of 3% were imposed on their wealth, the additional intake for the Palestinian [PA] treasury could be estimated at approximately $3.5 billion per year, if each rich person has approximately $5 million on average.

This addition to the Palestinian treasury would contribute to closing the deficit and covering a significant part of the public expenditures. More importantly, it would bring about a kind of social justice in Palestine through a fairer distribution of wealth. The important question remains: Are the rich people in our society prepared to contribute by paying a wealth tax as was proposed by the letter from 100 millionaires at the Davos [World Economic Forum] conference?”