Lets be absolutely clear: As history has shown us through repetition, there is no such thing as a “one-off” capital levy, which is a fancy and whitewashed term for stealing from the citizens — yet it is spinned in such a way that the people perceive it as their government working hard in their interests. Once the government has confiscated a piece of wealth, it will consider it a test of the public’s patience, and likely do it again. We saw it in Cyprus, Greece, Hungary and Poland the last few years — and these are only examples during modern times. As the economies continue to plunge, they will take more and more until everything has imploded.
(Reuters) – Germany’s Bundesbank said on Monday that countries about to go bankrupt should draw on the private wealth of their citizens through a one-off capital levy before asking other states for help.
The Bundesbank’s tough stance comes after years of euro zone crisis that saw five government bailouts. There have also bond market interventions by the European Central Bank in, for example, Italy where households’ average net wealth is higher than in Germany.
“(A capital levy) corresponds to the principle of national responsibility, according to which tax payers are responsible for their government’s obligations before solidarity of other states is required,” the Bundesbank said in its monthly report.
It warned that such a levy carried significant risks and its implementation would not be easy, adding it should only be considered in absolute exceptional cases, for example to avert a looming sovereign insolvency.
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Recent reforms and adjustments in the euro zone’s struggling countries – Ireland, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus and Portugal – have improved conditions for sustainable growth, the Bundesbank said, but remained concerned about high debt levels.
It was still a key challenge to drive down public as well as private debt and the ECB’s upcoming bank health checks could help to address current problems in the banking sector.
A successful test could also help to wean banks in the euro zone periphery countries off ECB funding, the Bundesbank said.
Full article: Bundesbank calls for capital levy to avert government bankruptcies (Reuters)
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