Solidarity and wealth

It might sound like they're shooting themselves in the foot, but it's nothing more than showing a kind of enlightened self-interest, intelligence and long-term vision. Sixteen of the wealthiest men in France have now added their voices to repeated demands from several multimillionaires in the United States - led by investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett, one of world's wealthiest men - to raise taxes on the highest incomes in the country. They did it one day before the French government issued new fiscal adjustment measures to save another one billion euros this year and 11 billion euros in 2012, with the aim of calming the bond markets.

The French millionaires are defending the creation of a special tax to confront the necessity that the decline of European public finances will do away with the model that has allowed them to accumulate wealth in the past and, of course, not just in the European Union.

All sides agree that the costs of the crisis are not being carried by the "mega-rich," in Buffet's phrase, some of whom are the actual originators of the disaster. In the tax systems of most advanced economies, the tax burdens on the biggest fortunes are, proportionally to their income and wealth, much lower than on the rest of contributors. What's more, these privileged individuals usually have access to enough technical support to not only minimize their burden, but also, if necessary, more efficiently get around the tax inspectors.

One of the consequences of this crisis has been the deterioration of the public accounts in the majority of the advanced economies. The correction of these imbalances cannot exclusively be achieved via a reduction in public spending, the consequences of which are paid for in greater measure by people on low or middle incomes. Increasing the financial pressure on higher earners, as the French government has decided to do on incomes greater than 500,000 euros, is a valid option, as is establishing a tax on financial transactions or bank assets. It's desirable that these tax decisions provide a certain degree of harmonization in the EU, or at least in the euro zone.

Aside from these fiscal amendments, the authorities should also actively pursue fraud - in Spain, naturally. The disaffection of citizens and the distancing of institutions, the economic system and politics are more explicit than ever in the management of this crisis. Spain needs to stop being a country where people can stroll about, or aspire to be leading social figures, having committed financial crimes. This is especially serious in an economy in which more than a fifth of the active population is unemployed. Even though there might not be initiatives like those in the United States and France, Spanish financial adjustment should not exclude an effort to guarantee that everybody fulfills their tax obligations.