Posted on 12/12/2019 5:38:01 PM PST by karpov
Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax—an annual levy on the total value of one’s assets, not income—has drawn a lot of attention. The senator’s claim that her proposal would cost “ultramillionaires” only an annual 2% and billionaires an annual 6% wildly understates the truth. Wealthy people don’t maintain bank accounts with millions or billions of dollars of liquid cash; they invest their assets. Those hit with the wealth tax would have to sell assets each year to pay it, subjecting them to income tax as well. The actual cost would often be several times greater than 2% or 6%.
Ms. Warren has proposed a dramatic increase in the federal capital-gains tax rate, along with taxing current appreciation of asset values for wealthy taxpayers. She has proposed raising the current top long-term capital-gains rate from 20% to 39.6%, leaving in place the current additional investment tax of 3.8%, and assessing an additional 14.8% tax for taxpayers with net investment income over $400,000. That adds up to a total federal tax rate of 58.2%, more than double the current maximum 23.8% on long-term capital gains. For a California taxpayer who would also be required to pay the state’s 13.3% income tax, the total state and federal income taxes to raise the funds to pay Ms. Warren’s 6% federal wealth tax would be 71.5%.
There’s another complication: Investors and business owners often take on third-party debt to pursue their objectives, using their assets as collateral to secure the debt. When owners sell these encumbered assets, they have a primary obligation to pay back the debt secured by the assets sold. Only after this important first step would taxpayers turn to paying taxes—first, federal and state income taxes, then the wealth tax.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
“Besides being bad for the economy, it’s also unconstitutional. “
indeed. a so-called “wealth-tax” is nothing more than unconstitutional seizure of private property. period. just like the income tax, a “wealth tax” would require a Constitutional amendment ...
Lieawatha needs to send in all of her dough first.
As an example.
For the children.
Sounds like she wants to get too many beers first...
If you have to sell everything, the price of everything will skyrocket - the other way.
Free Stuff cost a lot.
“Billionaire sale. Everything must go to pay taxes. Best offer!”
“I’ll give you a million.”
“Wait. Now I’m not a billionaire any more. I don’t owe any taxes.”
“Too late. Give me my stuff.”
“Well, now you owe the taxes.”
“Why? This stuff isn’t worth a billion!”
Who’s going to buy everything that gets sold?
It would destroy asset markets.
Clearly the markets will crash. People's 401Ks will plummet. Housing values will plummet. But, Chieftess Sitting Bulls** will have more tax money to hand out. For awhile.
Just typical posturing - propose something radical so that the eventual, Left-of-today “compromise” seems reasonable by comparison.
Wealth Tax: Isn’t that the taxes I pay on the property I own? Every year I pay, and you do to. taxes on our houses and equipt that we have paid for with after tax dollars.
I’m sure the rich people pay property taxes also on everything they own.
Why should I have to pay taxes year after year on property I purchased 20 yrs ago? Why should I have to pay property taxes on vehicles that I already paid sales tax on with after tax dollars?
Or they could just ‘Go Galt’....
The only question is how they do it. Like Galt, like Fransisco, or like Ragnar.
She is one crazy old bitch!
The glut of securities on the market would collapse security prices for everybody.
Why do they keep calling it “Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax”?
It’s Karl Marx’s.
Real property is only a fraction of the total assets owned by the wealthy (on average). Municipal property taxes are, to some extent, correlated to the cost of municipal services received by the property owner. More expensive properties generally receive more services. It’s not perfect; but, there’s a degree of “user-pay” to the municipal tax system. A general wealth tax has little or no relationship to the value of services received from the government. Such a tax would be unfair, inefficient, and counter-productive.
She’s a moron going nowhere
An unintended consequence is ‘that many people’ selling off assets in a short period of time will crash prices of everything from art to vacation homes. What a nightmare.
Even worse, if they have to liquidate assets, there has to be someone left with the money to buy.
“That adds up to a total federal tax rate of 58.2%, more than double the current maximum 23.8% on long-term capital gains. For a California taxpayer who would also be required to pay the state’s 13.3% income tax, the total state and federal income taxes to raise the funds to pay Ms. Warren’s 6% federal wealth tax would be 71.5%. “
I think I’m going to cry.
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