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Austrian heiress giving away $36.6M because the government won't tax her inheritance (www.cbc.ca)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Marlene Engelhorn says that when she inherited her grandmother's multimillion-dollar fortune in 2022, she "wanted to be happy about it."

"And I couldn't be," the Austrian heiress told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "I was angry instead … because I knew it was really unfair, and there was no reason for me to get this that I could really justify."

Engelhorn has long campaigned for greater taxes on the wealthy in Austria, including an inheritance tax. But since the government won't redistribute her wealth for her, she says she's asking the people do it.

Engelhorn is giving €25 million ($36.5 million Cdn) — which she says is the vast majority of her inheritance — to a committee of Austrian residents tasked with using it to fight wealth inequality.

"I am only wealthy because I was born in a rich family. And I think in a democratic society of the 21st century, birth should not be the one thing that determines whether or not you're gonna get to lead a very good life," Engelhorn said.

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[-] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

It's important to think about the counterargument, I agree.

To counter your counterargument: it's not a good argument on many levels (scope, allocation, distribution mechanism, effect). The main reason is that this sort of charity doesn't improve the core problem of low(er) social mobility. The opportunity to pursue self-development/self-fulfillment should not be tied to the whimsical act of a better-off person but presented to everyone as equal as possible - through common goods and services. The impossible future is impossible due to vastly different prerequisites. The person's "greatness" will never be seen, as most likely they will never be presented with the opportunity to display it.

this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024

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