Two of the four signatories to this fascinating document were the renowned Frenchmen Thomas Picketty, who had published in August 2013 the controversial book “Le Capital au XXI siècle” and younger, equally brilliant Gabriel Zucman. Both have now published sequels which extend their original economic theories to the geopolitical and ideological motivations of the post-pandemic, digital world.

The assessment of wealth has always been distorted by the convoluted system of “salami slicing” of transactional values for distribution through a complexity of subsidiary entities registered in off-shore centres. To this has been added the blockchain anonymity of crypto-currency and its utility for concealing illicit gains and income.

To counter this, Zucman has introduced a methodology whereby the search is not so much the location of registered companies and family investors but who is the ultimate beneficial owner of shares and real estate. Instead of analysing tax returns, he now concentrates on data obtained from the Bank for International Settlements (often referred to as the central bankers´ bank), international statistics for investment portfolios and national records of assets and liabilities. It is painstaking detective work which is impeded through financial smokescreens created by a multitude of financial advisors to the rich. However, facts have emerged which show that the scale of tax evasion is greater than first thought.

Piketty continues to advocate the progressive taxation of higher incomes and capital gains but appreciates the barriers erected to detract from his advocation for following a route to ecological socialism and the creation of a formalised system of global climate justice. In particular, he targets the need to unify the present shambolic taxation systems of the 27 EU member states so that privileges and low rates cease to be used as incentives for multinationals to locate their operations and HQs in a particularly competitive country.

As a nation, the Portuguese have always been regarded as occupying a peripheral position in the League of Wealthy nations which is dominated by those of the north. However, the new line of investigation shows that the value of wealth transferred off-shore by the upper echelons of business families has been under-stated. Although Zucman does not rate the Madeira International Business Centre as being equivalent to a Caribbean tax haven, he considers its construct as a legal fiscal framework of selective privilege to be in need of revision so that beneficial ownership is transparent.

It is in relation to investment by foreigners in real estate and the apparatus of the digital revolution that the economists see the need for stringent regulation to ensure that profits resulting from the exploitation of the people´s assets remain in their possession and not siphoned off without the payment of taxes to the benefit of anonymous owners.

Consider the example of a company which is registered in London but with its principal shareholders consisting of sovereign wealth and private equity funds domiciled in the Gulf states and Australia. The company successfully applies for licences to mine lithium and copper in Portugal and sets up a subsidiary Portuguese company to administer public relations and carry out the initial clearance of purchased land and the construction of buildings. Government and local authority grants assist the building of infrastructure and the connection of electricity and water. Specialist mining equipment is imported and production begins. Ore is transported for processing at Sines and then conveyed by sea and land transport to manufacturers. In this chain, some profit will be taxed as income of the subsidiary but the major part will be subject to the jurisdictions in which the ultimate beneficial owners are located.

The identification of asset value becomes particularly complex in relation to intellectual property such as the software, algorithms and other technology needed for the application of Artificial Intelligence to the innovative digital economy of Portugal. It is vital that this is assessed accurately to prevent its untaxed flight through the fiscal windows of opportunity into the wallets of the elite.

In conclusion it is of interest to compare two immigrant investors:

Calouste Gulbenkian was an Armenian industrialist and philanthropist who during his lifetime gave much of his fortune to charitable funds of his people. He spent that last twelve years of his life in Portugal. As an expression of his contentment and admiration for Portuguese People he gave in 1956 the equivalent value of €400 million to found the eponymous Foundation which stands at the heart of national culture. Seventy years later, after years of adding to the fabulous collection of art treasures, the assets stand at nearly €4 billion.

Ramon Abramovich is a Russian/Israeli industrialist who became a billionaire during the chaotic commercial jungle which ensued after the fall of the USSR. In 2021 he successfully applied for Portuguese citizen having claimed descent from Sephardic Jews who were expelled from 15th century Portugal. Apart from some unspecified minor investment in the medicinal cannabis industry his only known asset in Portugal is an Algarvian mansion reputedly worth €10 million before it was “frozen” under the sanctions imposed by the EU in 2022. Rating agencies such as Forbes attribute a value of €9 billion to his net worth of and theoretically makes him by far the richest citizen.