4 mo. ago • 97%

A European Citizens Initiative wants to introduce a Wealth Tax (and they need your help)

Nous voulons un impôt européen sur les grandes fortunes pour financer la transition climatique et sociale et aider les pays victimes des dérèglements climatiques.

46 comments

France and Germany already hit their quorum. Now five more member states need to hit 100%. And the main goal of reaching 1 million of course.

24
- Germany shows 96.45% for me. So not quite there yet.
  
  4
  
  That's only the online votes. If you add votes collected by other means, you get more than the threshold.
  
  https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2023/000006_en
  
  And those numbers are (slightly) out of date
  
  12
  
  Meanwhile, France almost at 200%.
  
  4
I only do this as I like to learn new things myself and appreciate if people correct me.

The title is wrong. It should be “A European…” rather than “An European…”.

The way you can decide which one to use is by looking at the proceeding words first syllable sound. If it has a vowel sound you use an if it doesn’t, then you use a. It’s important to note it’s vowel sound and not just a vowel.

Examples:

A teacher

An apple

A car

An hour (note it starts with a vowel sound, but not a vowel)

A European

An excellent teacher
14
- Thank you for the correction. I wasn't sure (but also to lazy to check)
  
  I've edited the title
  
  13
  
  No problem. Thank you for being receptive to my comment.
  
  Sometimes people get mad, and I don’t get why as I love to learn new things and it may help other people who may be non-native speakers to learn the quirks of English.
  
  8
Done

13
- Same
  
  4
  
  I convinced my parents to sign it
  
  4
Thank you for sharing! Now we need to spread to the countries where this position is still not very known.

Portugal and Ireland only have about 500 signatures each for example, we can do better!

12
- good point. I've created a couple more crossposts
  
  3
English, so can't sign :( rooting for you all over the channel!

11
- So you have to find something else to do with your rich then.
  
  3
  
  I vote for eating them
  
  2
- Same, hope it catches on! Wish I could add my signature
  
  2
Done and shared where I could.

8
If this is supposed to be about the EU, why is the post in french?

Only a small fraction of the EU speaks that.

5
- If you click the link, the site will automatically be translated into your language. But since the organisers are French, it will preview in French.
  
  I agree, that seems like an oversight
  
  9
  
  Doesn't translate anything for me
  
  3
- That's true for basically any European language though, right?
  
  And English is no longer the obvious lingua franca since the UK left
  
  1
  
  I think English is still the most obvious choice as most people speak it as a second language. In fact I would want that EU wide kids learn English from grade 1 on and ideally we’d be all bilingual in a couple decades.
  
  8
I think I've already signed this at some point last year or is this a new attempt?

3
- No, it's been running for some time (that's why I didn't call it a new initiative). So it's probably the one you signed before.
  
  7
- You can just try. It will tell you if you already signed.
  
  3
Thanks, signed.

2
Thanks for the info! I just signed

1
These kinds of things should be handled on a national rather than an EU level. I don't like the idea of giving the EU further taxation rights - that is not its purpose.

-8
- On the contrary, I feel as though a tax like that can only be done at EU level rather than a national level if it wants to have any efficiancy. The ultra-rich are not bound by the same rules of territoriality as the rest of us, and would have no problem moving to another country in the EU if a local tax displeases them.
  
  In fact, this has been a key argument put forward by right-wing politicians against high-wealth tax on a national level for quite some time, that they would flee the country the first chance they get. But by registering it at the EU level, the million/billionaires won't have anywhere to run if they still want to enjoy the benefits of being in the EU :)
  
  21
  
  It can still be achieved via international agreement, the EU can serve its intended purpose by fostering such an agreement, and then codifying it later.
  
  My key issue with it is the slow removal of national sovereignty and the movenent of decisionmaking further away from the voter. This is the exact kind of thing that has led to the EU repeatedly trying to force through impopular proposals that infringe on the rights and privacy of citizens such as chat control.
  
  The EU needs to focus on its roots as a common market and united front for foreign policy, not on becoming an abomination of bureaucracy.
  
  4

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