"Well, that's not the way the system should work. People shouldn't be motivated to sell risky businesses and investments and invest the proceeds in tax free municipal bonds and the like." Well our 'influencer' didn't have to sell anything for his $173 million. And if he "only has $100 million after taxes, so what? That's still a ton of money. Again any capitals gains he gets from his stock portfolio is still only taxed at the time of sale. And only at 20%, not 40%. So if his $100 million was at $400 million at the time of sale, he would only pay $60 million in taxes on his capital gains, leaving him with a cool $340 million. I don't see a problem here. He's still filthy rich even after paying nearly $140 million in taxes.
Originally Posted by billthecat46
The 23.8% top rate (not 20%) is only available if you hold an asset for 366 days or more. And under the House Ways & Means Committee's proposal it would go up to 31.8%. But that's irrelevant to the issue at hand.
If you are taxed on your positions annually, every 365 days, using mark-to-market accounting, presumably you'll have to pay at the higher rate for short term capital gains. Which is currently 40.8%, and which would be 43.4% if the Trump tax cuts are done away with. That's in a state like Texas which has no state income tax. In California add 13.3% and in New York City add about 14.5%. Then you've got the new 3% Surtax that the House Ways and Means Committee is proposing on higher income taxpayers. Add it all up and you're looking at 46.4% in Texas and around 60% in California and New York City.
Given that this is supposed to be a billionaire's tax, I can guaran-damn-tee you the politicians would specify the higher short term rate. Taxing the billionaires at a high rate is popular among the people. Probably just like taking all the property away from the Jews was in Nazi Germany.
I probably shouldn't have used a passive income example. This is my reply to Eccieuser earlier in the thread,
Thanks, no cigar in his mouth this time! I used a passive investment in shares of stock as an example because that's an easy way to explain how a mark to market tax would work. But the majority of the people affected own their own businesses. They're investing their blood, sweat, tears, and most importantly business profits back into their companies. If you make them write a pay the IRS every year for profits they never realized, it's going to hurt them, their employees, and their customers. There are exceptions, but most of the profits are invested in worthwhile ways, not in third homes and yachts and the like.
I'm a big believer in the invisible hand. Provide a basic social safety net, insure our children are able to make it, provide for decent public infrastructure, and leave as much as possible in the private sector. The federal government is inefficient and mucks up a lot of what it touches. I don't feel so strongly about local and state government though. Where I live, I think they do a good job with the money we pay them.
Originally Posted by Tiny