Mr. Picketty's answer is begging the question. What Mr. Picketty has said is by now the famous switch of cause and effect. If givings are camouflage for tax exemptions, then taxes are the ones which are the culprit and not the giver. Successful businessmen like Mr, Bill Gates, Mr.Warren Buffet, and Mr.Mark Zuckerberg a creators of wealth. In that process, he brings innovative technologies and new products into the economy. Again in the process, he creates jobs. If taxes are removed, the successful businessmen would reinvest the surplus funds in their businesses. (otherwise, they would not have reached where they are). Taxes are nothing but money taken away from productive individuals at the point of a gun by the government to sustain nonproductive individuals.
