Thread by @Carnage4Life

These income tax articles don’t point to any meaningful problem. Here’s why using an example.

House prices in the Seattle area are up $100K-$200K in the past year. Homeowners are wealthier (net worth up) but they have no new income (bank accounts flat).
google.com/amp/s/www.nyti…

Governments understand taxing a $100K home price gain as income doesn’t make sense since you didn’t actually make $100K, it’s potential income. Instead they charge a far lower tax rate on the overall asset (a 1%-2% property tax) which is more reasonable to bear.

Not charging for asset gains applies not just houses but also stocks, ownership stakes in a company or even crypto. Imagine having to pay taxes on Bitcoin spikes over the past year before you even sold any.

Last year Bernie Sanders argued for a 1%-2% wealth tax on people worth over $32 million similar in concept to a property tax. Liz Warren did as well. They both lost the Democratic primary but what if they’d won?

berniesanders.com/issues/tax-ext…

A 2% annual tax on Jeff Bezos who’s worth $200B would be $4B/year. This is less than the annual growth of his net worth and even if it wasn’t would be meaningless to his day to day life as the wealthiest person on earth even if he lived forever and paid the tax each year.

A wealth tax would give the Federal government more income but there’s no problem the U.S. government has that’s caused by low funding.

Look at the Iraq War or COVID spending where trillions were generated out of thin air because certain issues were suddenly a priority.