Human Act Award 2022

Marlene Englehorn Words

“Tax justice means redistribution of wealth in a transparent and democratic way. Everyone relies on those around them; in a society, this translates to the fact that there is no wealth without societies that generate and secure it. The most democratic thing we can do is pay fair taxes in order to share the wealth we create together. Human Act is taking this seriously, which is why they also advocate for tax justice via the initiative Millionaires for Humanity.”

Beyond Philanthropy: Marlene’s Fight for Tax Justice

Marlene is the co-founder and one of the faces of the TaxMeNow association, a group of over fifty German-speaking wealth holders who demand higher taxes for the rich and want their fortunes to be redistributed systematically and democratically.

Like Human Act, Marlene believes that millionaires need to go beyond philanthropy and towards creating real, systematic change.

“Wealthy people receive far greater media attention when they raise an issue, that’s unfortunate, but the people at MFH, TaxMeNow, and I want to use this in order to work together on addressing wealth inequality, in solidarity with social movements.”

Marlene has decided not to receive the cash prize of $100,000, which comes with the Human Act Award, but instead advised us to donate the money to others in need. The money has therefore been donated to communities in Nepal through our partner organisation in the region.

Picture by: © Ulrich Palzer