UBS: Western governments may target individual wealth to fill massive public debt holes.

UBS recently issued a warning report that Western governments may turn their attention to the private wealth of the wealthy in the future to fill the holes in national finances. UBS Chief Economist Paul Donovan pointed out that policymakers have used private wealth to pay for government spending in the past, and in the future they may use a mix of incentives and penalties to raise funds from individuals. Donovan added that expecting governments to sit back and watch wealth flow without any intervention seems unrealistic. UBS predicts that some governments will try to mobilize this wealth to repay debts, but doing so may deprive the private sector of opportunities to access funding.