Summary

Piketty begins chapter 15 with a meditation on the idea of a global tax on capital. He calls this a “utopian ideal,” and highlights a few of the obstacles standing in its way. He says there would have to be established a universal tax schedule, and a consensus on how to allocate the revenues. He also casts doubt on the probability that such international coordination could even be achieved (515). Nevertheless, Piketty says that it is a goal that would benefit us to pursue.

Piketty then describes some of the existing taxes on capital in practice today, as well as what prevents them from attaining the global ideal. He lists among these shortcomings, problems related to bank information sharing, asset categorization, and financial transparency (516). He then reiterates that the global capital tax is not about raising revenue, but rather about regulation. Even if the...