[Tax Story] Responding to COVID-19 and Solidarity Tax

"From now on, I regret to say, sir, you are a person of this region. Just like everyone else." This is a line from the novel The Plague by French writer Albert Camus. It was said by Dr. Rieux to the journalist Rambert, who came to the small city of Oran from Paris for reporting but got stranded due to the rampant plague.

Dr. Rieux argues against Father Paneloux, who preached that the plague was "God's punishment." "If this world was created so that even children suffer, I would reject it. The only way to fight the plague is sincerity. That is, to fulfill the duties assigned to oneself."

If we replace the plague in the novel with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and read it, most of it matches the reality we face today. Camus emphasizes the sense of solidarity among citizens through his novel. He insists that through solidarity (solidarite), holding hands with each other, we can overcome the limitations of weak humans and resist disease and injustice.

Until just two months ago, humans considered themselves great through the achievements of science and medicine and the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. However, they are helplessly collapsing due to a strange virus of unknown origin. In the face of the fear of infection and death, humans realize how finite and fragile they are.

Overcoming adversity and trials is not possible by slogans alone. It requires the solidarity and practice of many people. The sense of solidarity emphasized by Camus in The Plague is fully reflected in French tax law. France levies a "solidarity tax (RSA)" on top of income tax and uses it as a resource necessary to promote and practice the people's sense of solidarity.

In particular, for ultra-high-income earners (annual income over 2.5 million euros), an additional 4% is collected as a contribution and used to protect the socially vulnerable (Article 223 sexies of the French General Tax Code). Article 13 of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)," proclaimed during the French Revolution, states that a common tax is necessary for maintaining public authority or administrative expenses, laying the foundation for the voluntary payment spirit of the solidarity tax. Advanced countries living together are made through such processes.

Unlike France, the United States has an active donation system. Microsoft founder Bill Gates donated 100 million dollars to fight COVID-19. How many chaebols in Korea have donated from their personal pockets rather than company funds? There are quite a few wealthy people who are stingy with donations but demand tax cuts. Korea also has the excellent virtue of Gyeongcheon Aein (敬天愛人, respecting heaven and loving people), but concrete practice is relatively minimal. If Father Paneloux, who sacrificed himself to the plague, were reborn in Korea, he might preach, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

The supplementary budget for COVID-19 measures will soon be prepared. Without tax increases, the fiscal deficit will deepen, and the debt that young people must bear will increase accordingly. Although this ruins the future of the nation and the younger generation, the political circles and media are turning a deaf ear.

Unfortunately, germs and bullets are merciless and do not distinguish between good and evil people; they seek scapegoats. The area of disease treatment should be left to experts. It is not a field for non-experts to interfere with instructions. We must encourage and care for each other.

In Korea, too, many medical staff, including doctors and nurses, are armed with sincerity and a sense of duty like Dr. Rieux. Let us trust and support them. Only then can we truly rise as an advanced country and give hope to the young generation.

We stand in the Republic of Korea, which has the strength to achieve industrialization and democratization. We have enough capacity to overcome this level of trial and more. Let us face COVID-19 with one heart.

An Changnam, Professor, Department of Economics and Taxation, Kangnam University

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.