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April 2, 2019
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, announced today that he would soon release a proposal to eliminate massive tax breaks enjoyed by the wealthy on their capital gains income. If successful, the proposal would ensure that income from wealth is taxed just like income from work.
His plan, which he has promised to flesh out in a white paper in the coming weeks, would tax the appreciation of assets owned by the very wealthy as income each year, an approach known as mark-to-market taxation. It would also subject that income to ordinary tax rates rather than special, lower income tax rates that apply to capital gains.
https://itep.org/sweeping-reform-would-tax-capital-gains-like-ordinary-income/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-democrat-proposes-annual-tax-on-unrealized-capital-gains-11554217383
(Score: 2) by digitalaudiorock on Sunday April 07 2019, @08:27PM (2 children)
We agree on this one for sure. This has to be one of the most bat shit crazy ideas I've ever heard. The degree to which this would complicate the tax code is unimaginable. He also seems to have forgotten that ordinary middle class folks can actually have investments as well. What happens when you get taxed to death on unrealized gains right before something like the 2008 crash ffs?...makes my head spin.
I actually wouldn't have a problem with some increase in the capital gains tax. That would hit me a bit, but I think there are quite a few folks who make the bulk of their money from this who are really getting a break they don't need...for example that growing group of the 1% who aren't entrepreneurs, but just entitled children of entrepreneurs. At least that's taxing it when you actually make the money.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 08 2019, @01:32AM (1 child)
I seem to recall that several years ago there was a proposal to pretty much do exactly this. It was roundly excoriated as a "death tax" and the idea died of humiliation. My recollection was that even though this was proposed to be only a marginal tax on the inheritances of the uber-wealthy, people were scared into believing that their small Mom-and-Pop family businesses would be taken away from them, etc. Another win for the fear mongers!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 08 2019, @01:56PM
Laws do tend to creep. Let us remember seat belt laws. When first passed, a cop couldn't stop you for a seat belt violation. They had to have some other reason to stop you, THEN, they could ticket you if you weren't buckled up. Today - they can and do pull you over for no other reason, then decide how much to harass you after you are stopped.
If the little people were to push a law through to claw away some of the money the 1% holds, you can bet both cheeks of your ass that the law would creep downward, sooner of later. First, they come for the multi-billionaires, then they come for mere billionaires, then they come for multi-millionaires, and on it goes.
Yes, eventually, they'll come for my mere thousands, and yours too.