Billionaires in blue states face coordinated wealth-tax bills. Some measures are based on Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s proposals to make the super-rich pay more

Washington Post ^ | January 17, 2023 | Julie Zauzmer Weil

[karpov]

Left-leaning proponents of taxing the assets held by America’s billionaires have a new target: In lieu of a federal wealth tax, state lawmakers want to tax billionaires where they live, in states like California, Washington and New York.

A group of legislators in statehouses across the country has coordinated to introduce bills simultaneously in seven states later this week, with the same goal of raising taxes on the rich.

“The point here is to make sure we do at the state level what is not being done at the federal level,” said Gustavo Rivera (D), a New York state senator who is part of the seven-state group.

Some of the state bills resemble the “wealth tax” that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pitched during her 2020 presidential candidacy. It’s a form of taxation never before attempted in the United States, in which very wealthy people would have to pay taxes annually on assets that they own, rather than just their income that year. Other bills focus on raising money from more conventional forms of taxation, including capital gains taxes and estate taxes.

The state legislators say they would like to try such ideas as a test case for future national policy while acting collectively to minimize the threat of people moving to a nearby lower-tax state.

“States are the labs of innovation,” said Noel Frame (D), a state senator in Washington. “But taxes are different. This is why we are all here together.”

No longer will states “get pitted against each other,” she added.

Sponsors told The Washington Post that they will introduce their bills on Thursday in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York and Washington, and shared the text of their draft bills.

[karpov]

Full article. Washington Examiner article: State wealth tax compact is short on logic and high on ideology.

[ClearCase_guy]

Fair Tax is a good solution for everybody. Except criminals. Which is probably why government doesn’t like it.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Just who do billionaires not for and give money to?

[Mr. Jeeves]

“States are the labs of innovation,” said Noel Frame (D), a state senator in Washington. “But taxes are different. This is why we are all here together.”

Ayn Rand must have edited this guy’s dialogue out of Atlas Shrugged for sounding too implausible. :)

[Nextrush]

A lot of rich folks moving in the near future IMHO.

[Wuli]

(A) “States are the labs of innovation,” said Noel Frame a state senator in Washington.”

(B) No longer will states “get pitted against each other,” she added.

(A) cannot be true unless states are “pitted against each other”, for unless they are there is little incentive to innovate.

“But taxes are different. This is why we are all here together.”

Translation: They are not really for innovation in taxes; their overall goal is in the end to have state taxes all the same, and such that “the rich” cannot think they can move to a better tax climate.

Dims are 100% for a centralized unitary state by any means possible.

[Dave Wright]

Actually, a good start would be to raise taxes for interest paid on Treasury bonds held in taxable accounts. The Fed has upped the discount rate from .5% to 4.5% in a year and the super-rich are now receiving a windfall income boost.

Of course, pension funds and other tax-exempt or tax deferred accounts would not be affected, but foreign investors, who make up more than 40% of the Treasury bond holders, would be.

[JesusIsLord]

It’s a form of taxation never before attempted in the United States, in which very wealthy people would have to pay taxes annually on assets that they own, rather than just their income that year.

Actually, this type of tax has existed for a long time, not only affecting the wealthy but everyone who owns real property. It's called property tax. BTW - all states have a property tax, with some being more onerous than others.

[cgbg]

The leftists cannot stop until they have a one world government—otherwise the billionaires can just move a few miles offshore and laugh at them.

As a practical matter states like Florida and Texas will get a few new billionaire residents—and the leftists will howl and pound the table as always.

[jdege]

Fair Tax is a good solution for everybody. Except criminals.

Especially the criminals in government.

[TimSkalaBim]

Sounds like these state legislators are forming some kind of tax ... confederacy.

And again, malevolent legislative innovation, pushing the bounds where a truly self-governing body of legislators would dare not tread.

[GaryCrow]

As a practical matter states like Florida and Texas will get a few new billionaire residents—and the leftists will howl and pound the table as always.

That’s what will happen, and we’ll be happy to have them because they’ll bring their prosperity with them. These commie states will try to insert some poison pills into the laws taxing them after they’ve left but historically schemes like that have been struck down by the Supreme Court.

[catnipman]

they need to stop this: Florida and Texas are filled up ...