QUESTION 4

Read the passage below and

(a) identify and state the main

conclusion of the letter signed by the nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires;

(b) identify and state ALL of the

claims that are relevant for the argument leading to that conclusion and at the same time are supported only by an appeal to authority (and not by a sub-argument), and

(c) choose ONE of those claims

supported only by an appeal to authority identified in (b) and state again what the claim is and whether

you accept the claim

(10 marks)

Dick Smith

is one of only three Australians among the nearly 400 millionaires and

billionaires who signed an open letter last month calling on all governments to

increase taxes on the super-rich.

The open

letter, timed to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, argued that extreme

wealth was distorting political dynamics and driving social exclusion.

Smith told

Guardian Australia he joined the call for a wealth tax because it would

“benefit us greatly”.

He added

that “increasing taxes on the super-rich is the best way to ensure our economy has

a healthy future”.

He also

mentioned that in Australia, “the wealth of the super-rich has grown faster than

the economy as a whole for four decades. If the wealth of the super-rich grows

faster than the economy as a whole for a sustained period of time the government

and most other parts of society are placed in a very desperate and unfair

situation.”

Smith and

his wife have given away more than $90m throughout their careers and are aiming

for a total of $100m before they die. When asked why more wealthy Australians

did not sign the letter calling for higher taxes on the super-rich, Smith said that

the super-rich “are not concerned with the wider consequences of their growing

wealth.”

Adapted from “WEALTH TAX: Three Australian

millionaires say the nation’s super-rich should face higher taxes”,

Background Information on Dick Smith:

Dick Smith

is an Australian entrepreneur. He is the founder of Dick Smith Electronics,

Australian Geographic, and Dick Smith Foods. A major philanthropist, he

supports a number of charities and conservation efforts. In 1980, he sold electronics

retailer chain Dick Smith Electronics to Woolworths for $25 million.