Millionaires group calls for wealth tax at virtual Davos

Make us pay more tax.

That was the message a group of billionaires and millionaires had for leaders convening virtually for the World Economic Forum.

The group calls itself the "Patriotic Millionaires" and is made up of more than a hundred ultra-wealthy individuals, including Disney heiress Abigail Disney.

They say they should be forced to help pay for the pandemic response and tackle the gulf between rich and poor.

In an open letter published on Wednesday, the group said:

"While the world has gone through an immense amount of suffering in the last two years, we have actually seen our wealth rise...yet few if any of us can honestly say that we pay our fair share in taxes".

That sentiment was echoed by Oxfam which on Monday published a report detailing how the superrich have thrived during the health crisis.

The charity details how the world's 10 wealthiest people more than doubled their fortunes to $1.5 trillion during the pandemic.

Oxfam Preisdent and CEO Abby Maxman:

"We've really had during the pandemic an inequality explosion. It's been a period that has been an unprecedented boom for billionaires...""

"Ninety-nine percent of humanity is being left behind so, as we watched, billionaire growth doubled at the rate of 15,000 dollars per second, that's 80 dollars less per second than a minimum wage worker makes in a year."

The "Patriotic Millionaires" group is calling for an annual "wealth tax" on those with fortunes of more than $5 million.

They say that could raise more than $2.5 trillion and pull more than two billion people out of poverty.

Last year, the World Bank urged countries to consider a wealth tax to help reduce inequality, replenish state coffers depleted by COVID-19 relief programmes and regain social trust.

However, outside Argentina and Colombia, no new wealth tax schemes have been initiated since the start of the pandemic.