But the thing about capital gains and losses are that they are only actually a thing when you cash out of the stock market.
Oh hey guys we can’t tax the wealth of the rich because their wealth isn’t in the form of sequential 2 dollar bills and simon didn’t say so it doesn’t count as wealth!
Of course it helps when Wall Street sends lobbyists to make the tax code work to their advantage.
Following this line of thought - sacrificed alot and you now own a house (shocking in this market I know). Its value goes up 100k in a year due to forces out of your control. You now owe 30k in additional tax.
Should you now be forced to sell your home if you can’t pay this tax?
Following it further- you have a bank account. You save 20k. You now have an asset that is increasing in value - do you now owe tax on this?
There is a bloody good reason taxes are paid when gains are realised, or more accurately when money changes hands.
Primary residences are always protected from tax agents.
Primary residences are absolutely not protected from tax agents. They can and are sold to cover unpaid taxes. While it is true they don’t do it often and will sieze every other asset you own first, that commonly leads to loosing your home as well. Good luck paying your mortgage when you don’t have a car to drive to work anymore and all the funds in your bank account are frozen.
"if you have unpaid taxes, the IRS has the right to seize your home through a tax levy. If the IRS seizes your home for unpaid taxes, it uses the money from the sale to cover the cost of seizing and selling the property. Then, it applies the remainder to your tax bill. You can apply for a refund if there’s any money left. "
https://taxcure.com/tax-problems/tax-levy/home-seizure
Well, I guess you ARE attempting to solve the problem of corrupt lobbyists. Why pay an org to bribe a politician when you can instead just listen to people arguing for why only the ultra-wealthy who can afford the cost of trading should be able to benefit. What next, punish the tobacco industry by giving every school child a piece of nicorette at lunch?
That said, I do actually very much agree with a wealth tax, with caveats. First home (which you are already paying property tax on) is exempt. Same with very specific retirement funds. Probably one car per person because that would also predominantly hurt the lower class, although I would probably make it a fuel tax since that would impact climate change AND de-value the resell value of a car collection.
Because there are solutions and many economists have proposed and studied them. But “We should make stock trading more expensive so only the ultra rich can do it” is not at all a solution.
Because people actually live in those. And, because of the never ending housing crisis, the “value” of houses goes up pretty rapidly. Which already sucks when you are paying property tax and needing to send the “Hey, my house isn’t ACTUALLY worth that much” letter to the county every few years. But add on an overall tax for… not paying rent? And you are going to have a LOT of people priced out of owning their own homes. Which, like most of the previous poster’s suggestions, just serve to consolidate “wealth” with the ultra-rich.
Multiple homes? Fuck ‘em. Yes, there is the occasional case of someone buying their parents’ home or whatever. But mostly you are looking at landlords in that situation.
Maybe. In that case, I think the “first home” should be exempt only if its your only home. If you have more than one, then I see no reason not to tax them. I’m sure it would create a lot of loopholes that would also need to be plugged up.
Oh hey guys we can’t tax the wealth of the rich because their wealth isn’t in the form of sequential 2 dollar bills and simon didn’t say so it doesn’t count as wealth!
Of course it helps when Wall Street sends lobbyists to make the tax code work to their advantage.
Following this line of thought - sacrificed alot and you now own a house (shocking in this market I know). Its value goes up 100k in a year due to forces out of your control. You now owe 30k in additional tax.
Should you now be forced to sell your home if you can’t pay this tax?
Following it further- you have a bank account. You save 20k. You now have an asset that is increasing in value - do you now owe tax on this?
There is a bloody good reason taxes are paid when gains are realised, or more accurately when money changes hands.
No. Primary residences are always protected from tax agents. Nobody is going to be made homeless by a wealth tax. Take your fearmongering elsewhere.
Primary residences are absolutely not protected from tax agents. They can and are sold to cover unpaid taxes. While it is true they don’t do it often and will sieze every other asset you own first, that commonly leads to loosing your home as well. Good luck paying your mortgage when you don’t have a car to drive to work anymore and all the funds in your bank account are frozen.
"if you have unpaid taxes, the IRS has the right to seize your home through a tax levy. If the IRS seizes your home for unpaid taxes, it uses the money from the sale to cover the cost of seizing and selling the property. Then, it applies the remainder to your tax bill. You can apply for a refund if there’s any money left. " https://taxcure.com/tax-problems/tax-levy/home-seizure
Well, I guess you ARE attempting to solve the problem of corrupt lobbyists. Why pay an org to bribe a politician when you can instead just listen to people arguing for why only the ultra-wealthy who can afford the cost of trading should be able to benefit. What next, punish the tobacco industry by giving every school child a piece of nicorette at lunch?
That said, I do actually very much agree with a wealth tax, with caveats. First home (which you are already paying property tax on) is exempt. Same with very specific retirement funds. Probably one car per person because that would also predominantly hurt the lower class, although I would probably make it a fuel tax since that would impact climate change AND de-value the resell value of a car collection.
Because there are solutions and many economists have proposed and studied them. But “We should make stock trading more expensive so only the ultra rich can do it” is not at all a solution.
Why should “first home” be exempt?
Because people actually live in those. And, because of the never ending housing crisis, the “value” of houses goes up pretty rapidly. Which already sucks when you are paying property tax and needing to send the “Hey, my house isn’t ACTUALLY worth that much” letter to the county every few years. But add on an overall tax for… not paying rent? And you are going to have a LOT of people priced out of owning their own homes. Which, like most of the previous poster’s suggestions, just serve to consolidate “wealth” with the ultra-rich.
Multiple homes? Fuck ‘em. Yes, there is the occasional case of someone buying their parents’ home or whatever. But mostly you are looking at landlords in that situation.
Maybe. In that case, I think the “first home” should be exempt only if its your only home. If you have more than one, then I see no reason not to tax them. I’m sure it would create a lot of loopholes that would also need to be plugged up.
Ah. Ambiguity fart.
Let me rephrase that to "one home per “household”.