For this system to be feasible, I’m sure we’re dealing with rough estimates and they aren’t going to send inspectors into your home to appraise your stuff. You can get a rough idea of what your home will sell for in less than an hour. I literally went onto zillow, put in my address, and it gave me a “zestimate” of $1,209,210 (full disclosure, that’s my father-in-law’s house who we rent from… also OMG at the cost of a townhouse in SF).
That’s stretching the truth. Warren’s website says its limited to property worth $50,000 or more.
Also logistically, we aren’t talking about every American every year. Once there’s a baseline of what everyone’s wealth is, you can ignore everyone that is below the $50 mil threshold. It’s estimated that there are about 83,620 Americans who have more than $50mil in wealth.
You’re talking about philosophy; he is talking about rates. Would you leave the country, and forgo all the rights and privileges that come with US citizenship, over a 2% tax increase?
Anywhere I have lived my property taxes have been assessed based on a value set by the city or county assessor.
Most places also have a way to contest the assessor’s assessment. I would expect a wealth tax would follow a similar model. (And since we’re talking about big-money people, I would expect they would have a legal team to handle those issues. And the courts will get flooded with cases that contest the value of all sorts of items with values that are solely market-driven.)
Note: I’m not saying this to support or endorse a wealth tax. Nobody on this board could be more opposed to it as I am. Just saying.
They tried the share and share alike at Jamestown and nearly starved till they went to a system of “if you will not work you shall not eat”.
Yeah, it’s like that in most other third world countries too. I will have to remind my grandmother this afternoon that unless she gets out there and gets a job, she does not deserve to eat.
You need to speak for yourself. For me, I will take on debt if that debt advances a goal I have or addresses a need.
People don’t take on debt to line someone else’s pocket.
And the guy who has made the better mousetrap gets rich because other people buy it. Perhaps Gates is getting rich off your consumption of Microsoft products, but the decision to buy those products is totally yours. You buy it because you decide it’s the right thing for you.
You don’t think so? Note that you are obligated to repay that money. When you do, in the end the money used to start the business (plus the money you paid in interest) absolutely IS yours.
I’m not sure what school you went to, but the one I went to says that in order to borrow something, someone else has to lend it. That by definition means you’re borrowing something that isn’t yours. Amazing, I know.
Actually, once I lend it to you, I no longer have it. In its place I have a Receivable asset – your IOU.
And once you get it, you own both the lent money AND the obligation to pay it back. You have an asset and a liability. Using that money (if you use it well) most certainly IS making your money work for you. If you don’t do that, when you pay it back the only thing you have to show for is is the interest cost for the time you owned it. and that’s certainly not making your money work for you.
Since you don’t think 2% is too much. Here is what you need to do. This April once you have paid your tax on your income. Go ahead, get the value of everything you own. Bank accounts, stocks, bonds, cars, computers, phones . . . EVERYTHING you own to find out what your net worth is. Then write the government a check for 2% of the value.
