will they have to pay tax on it?
“will they have to pay tax on it?”
Ya know, that’s a good question.
UBI really only matters if your income is below a fairly substantial level. Above that point, you’re just paying out your own $UBI (plus that of others), so it should be a net $0. You give the feds $UBI just so they can give it back to you (without having to track who’s supposed to receive UBI) That’s part of the point: those not needing it just see a net $0.
BUT...
If you have a taxable income, there’s nothing saying you won’t pay taxes on your $UBI checks. So my net $0 suddenly becomes another (taxRate * $UBI) in annual taxes, just because I give the feds $UBI (plus more, for others not paying sufficient taxes) so they can give it back to me. So if UBI is $1000/mo, that means I have to give the feds $12,000/yr just so they can give me $12,000/yr back ... but since it looks like additional income, I have to shell out another $4000 or so on that “income”. WTF?