David de Rothschild for 50% peak tax

In an interview over at Die Zeit, David de Rothschild – the American-born head of the famous banking family who now runs the bank from France – says the following:

If the rich only paid 20 or 30 percent tax (the current peak tax rate in the US is 35 percent), I would say that that is unacceptably low. But we currently pay just over 50 percent. I think that's perfect. I earn 100 euros, keep half, and share the other half.…
If the government decides that there needs to be greater solidarity and the tax rate needs to increase to 58 or 60 percent so we can get out of this crisis, then it has my support… but I would not offer to do so voluntarily because that would leave the impression on people that the rich have done something wrong.

The current peak tax in Germany is 43 percent, though there is a Reichensteuer that brings that level up to 45 percent. At the moment, the majority of Germans still seem to be in favor of higher taxation, but it is interesting to see that so many rich people who would be affected also don't really have a problem paying higher taxes.

And of course, as I wrote yesterday at Renewables International, Germans are also willing to pay more for green power.