Economist Debate: Should the rich pay higher taxes?

Defending the motion

Professor Thomas Piketty Professor of Economics at the Paris School of Economics (PSE)

Let me give three reasons why I believe the rich should pay higher taxes. For the sake of concreteness, let us say that we are talking about introducing an 80% marginal tax rate on all annual incomes in excess of €1m, leaving the rest of the tax system unchanged.

Against the motion

Mr Chris Edwards Director of Tax Policy Studies, Cato Institute

Should the rich pay higher taxes? Definitely not. Governments do not need any more money, and they misallocate much of what they already take from us. Furthermore, taxation imposes large deadweight losses on the economy, which makes us all poorer.

Closing statements