On May 20, a cross-section group of opposition parliamentarians lodged a draft agreement calling on the president to levy a 2.5% wealth tax on the “super rich”. The idea behind the initiative is to enable over 4 million people to benefit from a Basic Emergency Income fund for 6 months during the social crisis. It should be noted that this type of initiative is not binding, as if it is approved, it merely expresses the chamber’s political position on the issue.

The deputy driving the initiative, Karol Cariola (PC — Opposition) explained that “there is a sector of the population where people have been left without jobs, whose wages have been reduced, without even the minimum conditions required to support their families. These people are suffering from the harshest consequences of the economic conditions unleashed by the pandemic. We must resolve this situation as a country, not only with help from the State, but also from those sectors that have for so many years accumulated great wealth at the expense of the people of Chile.” 

The document seeks to create a 2.5% tax to be levied “on financial and non-financial liquid assets of over 10 million dollars, to create a Basic Emergency Income fund for Chilean families, comprising a monthly income of at least $ 420,000 for an average family group of three people for the next six months.”  The text contains a list of the 10 highest fortunes ranked on the Chilean stock market and the names of the Chilean billionaires according to Forbes’s ranking.