It's time State scaled taxation more towards the filthy rich

The expatriate comes from a country that believes in employment fairness, or thinks it does.

Generally speaking, most countries in Europe have been ‘Centrist’ in their politics since the mid-20th Century, and have even veered left into Social Democracy, that subtly leftist political position that stresses, amongst other things, that a certain decency should prevail in employer-employee relations. For example, people should be paid fairly, working conditions should be acceptable, and those employed should have a right to air their grievances if fairness breaks down into neglect or abuse of the law.

But over the last few decades of centre-right rule in the UK, this fairness has broken down, and one of the world’s most unequal rich-poor gender gaps has opened, leading to strikes and general discontent with policies that see the rich get richer and the poor, poorer.

One very symbolic example of what’s happening in expatriates’ home countries these days is the recently-concluded court case, lost by four members of the UK’ ‘richest family’, the Hunduja’s, who were successfully prosecuted in a Swiss court ‘for exploiting staff brought over from India to work at their Geneva villa’, as the BBC puts it. Switzerland’s Geneva of course is another playground of the global rich.

The allegations were that members of the Hinduja family – with a supposed fortune of more than 35 billion British Pounds from oil, banking, gas and hospitality – had employed ‘imported workers’ at only a tenth of the minimum wage, and this is after confiscating their passports.

Prosecutors suggested that the family spent more on their pet dog than on their employees.

‘Hospitality’, indeed.

Of course, this is an excessive case, but it possibly reminds us of the horror stories endured by some Kenyans employed in certain Middle Eastern countries, who were lured there on the promises of great wealth, but ended up imprisoned, abused, and their passports confiscated.

Yet, we should be honest. Might this relatively isolated yet symbolic case also remind us of how we employ in Kenya? Yes, I mean those who might employ ‘imported’ labour, but also how people are generally employed, in EPZs but also in mainstream waged and salaried work? Maybe how we employ our ‘domestic staff’. Offering housing and consequently reduced pay seems rather like indenture, and are working hours and treatment fair?

And in companies: look at the vast divide between basics like how some walk to work while owners drive imported Range Rovers. It is fair to ask the question, and in relation to the Finance Act to ask whether perhaps the rich are in fact able to absorb the costs, so should pay more, proportionately. In very unequal societies, taxation probably needs to be scaled more towards ‘ability to pay’ – hence we could, as government has done, reduce taxes on staples while raising them for the excessively, disproportionately rich.

Yes, business must thrive, but there’s evidence that Captains of Industry can afford this.