Daoud Kuttab at PostGlobal

Daoud Kuttab

Jerusalem/Amman, Jordan

Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. He is a former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University in the United States. Mr. Kuttab is the former director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, Palestine and the founder of AmmanNet, the Arab world's first internet radio station. His personal web page is www.daoudkuttab.com. Close.

Daoud Kuttab

Jerusalem/Amman, Jordan

Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. He is a former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University in the United States. more »

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Tax the Billionaires

I suggest a special 10% tax on all those billionaires who – even with their extended families and friends – can never possibly spend the monies they have amassed.

This 10% tax should go directly to support poorer countries, poorer individuals around the world, on condition that the money be spent through reputable organizations who commit to transparency and good governance. The other necessary condition would be that dictators aren’t allowed to touch the money; organizations must spend it directly on peoples living under dictatorships.

While it would be nice if this could occur voluntarily, I believe governments where these wealthy people reside should be obliged to collect the money. The distribution should be done by an independence agency whose executive directors have clean records and publicly declare their assets and interests, in order to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. I don't mind if contributing billionaires voluntarily sit on a board of trustees themselves. But since billionaires haven't done so by now, they are unlikely to do it unless they are required to by the power law.

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