Of course it would but you cant get even the poorest person on earth to understand how insane it is to let billionaires pay less taxes then a person in the middle class this last tax day Jeff Bezos paid zero in income tax on 11 billion dollars in profit and got a 129 million dollar tax rebate if you condone this obscene tax code your a fool .
Help out with a few intelligent suggestion, KingD, I do NOT approvenor condone, we got THAT settled. And you propose WHAT? exactly, is your ‘path forward’?
I wanted to vote for Elizabeth Warren, too, but I know there’s no way this country will enact a wealth tax at the federal level. I think some states have tried, but as I recall, it costs too much to enforce it. Those dang tricky accountants!
The hard part would be figuring out a fair and economical way to assess wealth in a tax system now based on income, most of which is reported by the income source. What would count as wealth: financial assets (stocks, bonds, etc.) and real property only, or also personal property like vehicles, artworks, and jewelry? How to assess the latter and enforce reporting? Is it fair to tax wealth purchased with income that was already taxed, or should the tax be on increased value even though the property hasn’t been sold? If most of the value is in physical property, such as land or manufacturing plants, would the owner be required to sell them to pay the taxes? Also, is this a one-time tax or annual? If annual, the worth of these individuals would continue dropping by half every year, which would change their families’ lifestyles substantially within a few years. Clearly, this quickly gets complicated. Closing loopholes on income taxes would likely be easier, though we all know how hard that is politically.
So, since this wealth is not sitting in cash, but rather in the stocks of their companies, who do you think would buy all these 100’s of billions in stocks? Certainly not Americans, who don’t have those resources. You’d mandate the flooding of the market with these stocks, cause a collapse in the market, thus offering up some very nice bargains to the rest of the world, especially China and Saudi Arabia, to take ownership of another significant amount of American corporations. That’s pretty dumb.
kingdiamond69 over 4 years ago
Of course it would but you cant get even the poorest person on earth to understand how insane it is to let billionaires pay less taxes then a person in the middle class this last tax day Jeff Bezos paid zero in income tax on 11 billion dollars in profit and got a 129 million dollar tax rebate if you condone this obscene tax code your a fool .
LesliePiper3 over 4 years ago
Help out with a few intelligent suggestion, KingD, I do NOT approvenor condone, we got THAT settled. And you propose WHAT? exactly, is your ‘path forward’?
WestNYC Premium Member over 4 years ago
Keef, the real world does not work this way. Now matter how much you dream about such things, it will not happen the way you wish it to.
Teto85 Premium Member over 4 years ago
Jackie Mars is a billionaire? That’s a lot of Snickers bars.
Agapostemon over 4 years ago
I wanted to vote for Elizabeth Warren, too, but I know there’s no way this country will enact a wealth tax at the federal level. I think some states have tried, but as I recall, it costs too much to enforce it. Those dang tricky accountants!
Rabies65 over 4 years ago
The financial gains made by the underclasses would surely still trickle up to the Waltons, Bezos, Buffet. They would still be ahead, long term.
SapphireSkies Premium Member over 4 years ago
The hard part would be figuring out a fair and economical way to assess wealth in a tax system now based on income, most of which is reported by the income source. What would count as wealth: financial assets (stocks, bonds, etc.) and real property only, or also personal property like vehicles, artworks, and jewelry? How to assess the latter and enforce reporting? Is it fair to tax wealth purchased with income that was already taxed, or should the tax be on increased value even though the property hasn’t been sold? If most of the value is in physical property, such as land or manufacturing plants, would the owner be required to sell them to pay the taxes? Also, is this a one-time tax or annual? If annual, the worth of these individuals would continue dropping by half every year, which would change their families’ lifestyles substantially within a few years. Clearly, this quickly gets complicated. Closing loopholes on income taxes would likely be easier, though we all know how hard that is politically.
LNER4472 Premium Member over 4 years ago
It would last about four months of such a grandiose plan.Then what?Confiscate the rest? That buys you another four months.
rwebs over 4 years ago
So, since this wealth is not sitting in cash, but rather in the stocks of their companies, who do you think would buy all these 100’s of billions in stocks? Certainly not Americans, who don’t have those resources. You’d mandate the flooding of the market with these stocks, cause a collapse in the market, thus offering up some very nice bargains to the rest of the world, especially China and Saudi Arabia, to take ownership of another significant amount of American corporations. That’s pretty dumb.