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a new U.S. wealth tax - only on the ultra-wealthy?

Gimmesometruth said:
Let me clarify this, I was speaking to gdp gains, not nominal gdp levels. You know better than to think I don't know gdp is higher today.

But I know you will jump on the smallest detail for any "win".
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Nah… that's your bag.. and you just write before you think... A LOT.

Have a nice day gimmee.
 
Bum said:
The problem with all of the above is that the law provides congress the ability to tax income…..not personal wealth or perceived personal value.
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That would be incorrect. The 16th Amendment allows for an income tax. Prior to that, Congress has the expressed power to lay taxes.
 
joko104 said:
A wealth tax is just a diversion from what it really is - a Federal property tax.

This is how the income tax was started. Only 1% and only for rich people. It grew to as high as 90% and everyone having to report their income. This would evolve to everyone having to report everything they own to the government and paying a federal property tax on it.
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Since the wealthiest of Americans make use of more of the American commons than others, asking the very top of that group to pay seems like a reasonable way to recoup some of the wealth created from that which belongs to all of us
 
Mycroft said:
This is guaranteed to cause wealthy people to move their wealth out of the country.

Why do the Dems hate their country?
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You're gonna need a source for that claim. Facts just don't bear it out. America is also one of the safest places for rich people to live. I don't see a large exodus on the horizon.
 
mrjurrs said:
You're gonna need a source for that claim. Facts just don't bear it out. America is also one of the safest places for rich people to live. I don't see a large exodus on the horizon.
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LOL!!

Just ask the French what happened when they tried to do the same thing.
 
This video is a great explanation of the wealth tax, which should clear up a lot of the confusion in this thread.



It's not a wealth tax for the every day wealthy. It's for the ultra wealthy.

This is something I support. It could pay for so many services in our country, our aging infrastructure, and it could uplift the entire nation. Most importantly, it would not significantly impact the ultra wealthy. Their financial numbers would still remain obscenely high.

For those saying the wealthy will just leave the country, no they won't. Most other developed nations tax their ultra wealthy way more than we do, and most countries have reciprocal tax agreements with the United States so that people can't escape paying. The only way to dodge it would be with illegal tax havens, like the ones that were revealed in the Panama Papers.

Our country is falling apart and the ultra wealth tax is a very simple way to generate the funds to do massive overhauls. We should definitely do it, if only on a temporary basis... say 10-15 years of expiring tax code.
 
Mycroft said:
LOL!!

Just ask the French what happened when they tried to do the same thing.
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Unclear on the reference, crystal clear that you didn't support your claim.
 
mrjurrs said:
Still haven't supported your claim. The French example you give is a tax on income, the wealth tax we are discussing is a percentage tax on wealth. If you have $50 million in wealth you would be required to pay a $1million tax. If you didn't make any money the next year, you wouldn't pay it then.
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The point is, the wealthy don't like to be taxed excessively and they will move if the government does it.
 
mrjurrs said:
Since the wealthiest of Americans make use of more of the American commons than others, asking the very top of that group to pay seems like a reasonable way to recoup some of the wealth created from that which belongs to all of us
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Yeah... please explain how what I earn from my hard work... actually "belongs to you (all of us)".
 
Mycroft said:
The point is, the wealthy don't like to be taxed excessively and they will move if the government does it.
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Don't let the door hit 'em where the good lord split 'em. I'll believe in the exodus when I see it.
 
jaeger19 said:
Yeah... please explain how what I earn from my hard work... actually "belongs to you (all of us)".
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If your job involves profiting from polluting the air, you are polluting our air. If you produce a product that creates ill health and we have to pay for that health care, if you use our water, electrical, or power grid, that belongs to all of us. If you hire workers educated in the US, we paid for that. The commons.
 
mrjurrs said:
Don't let the door hit 'em where the good lord split 'em. I'll believe in the exodus when I see it.
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The French didn't have your attitude...for good reason.

But don't worry, you won't see the exodus because that tax won't get any further than a campaign pitch.
 
Mycroft said:
The French didn't have your attitude...for good reason.

But don't worry, you won't see the exodus because that tax won't get any further than a campaign pitch.
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Maybe, are you comfortable with a $20 plus trillion debt?
 
Northern Light said:
This video is a great explanation of the wealth tax, which should clear up a lot of the confusion in this thread.



It's not a wealth tax for the every day wealthy. It's for the ultra wealthy.

This is something I support. It could pay for so many services in our country, our aging infrastructure, and it could uplift the entire nation. Most importantly, it would not significantly impact the ultra wealthy. Their financial numbers would still remain obscenely high.

For those saying the wealthy will just leave the country, no they won't. Most other developed nations tax their ultra wealthy way more than we do, and most countries have reciprocal tax agreements with the United States so that people can't escape paying. The only way to dodge it would be with illegal tax havens, like the ones that were revealed in the Panama Papers.

Our country is falling apart and the ultra wealth tax is a very simple way to generate the funds to do massive overhauls. We should definitely do it, if only on a temporary basis... say 10-15 years of expiring tax code.
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BWAAHHHH..

Just so you know..most other nations don't tax their wealthy "way more than we do". The wealthy in those countries get breaks.. do different things etc.. and most countries do NOT have reciprocal tax agreements with the US.. not the way you think. Each country has its own sets of tax laws... so one country will tax based on where income was made.. another will tax based on things other than income.. etc. That's why the wealthy set up corporate headquarters in one country.. with production in another and sales in a third.
 
mrjurrs said:
If your job involves profiting from polluting the air, you are polluting our air. If you produce a product that creates ill health and we have to pay for that health care, if you use our water, electrical, or power grid, that belongs to all of us. If you hire workers educated in the US, we paid for that. The commons.
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Yeah.. that doesn't make sense. Its not "your air"..its "my air".. just as its yours. Etc etc.. Where do you get that the results of my work... are YOURS? Hmmm.

When I hire educated works educated in the US... I paid for it. I pay for it in salary so they pay for their education loans. I pay in the property taxes that pay for their public educations. I pay in the income taxes my business pays. The personal property taxes I have to pay. The sales taxes my business pays. And I pay for half of my employees Social security and Medicare.
 
jaeger19 said:
Yeah.. that doesn't make sense. Its not "your air"..its "my air".. just as its yours. Etc etc.. Where do you get that the results of my work... are YOURS? Hmmm.

When I hire educated works educated in the US... I paid for it. I pay for it in salary so they pay for their education loans. I pay in the property taxes that pay for their public educations. I pay in the income taxes my business pays. The personal property taxes I have to pay. The sales taxes my business pays. And I pay for half of my employees Social security and Medicare.
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First, never said my air. How are the results of your workers efforts your work? You pay them because they make you money. If they didn't you'd fire them. Please explain how your taxes pay for all your workers education. Didn't they pay taxes too? Congratulations on your business, but you didn't do it alone.
 
Lutherf said:
Here's the problem with a wealth tax -

Lets say that I have 10,000 acres of ranch land and 500 head of beef cattle. The land is generally valued at $1000/acre and the cattle is worth $1200 a head. That makes it easy to calculate value. I just have to pay tax on my $10.6 million in assets come April. But there's an issue. One of the other ranchers in the area had a developer come in and make him a deal he couldn't refuse. The developer paid $2500/acre for 200 acres of that ranch and is looking for additional land on which to build a golf course. Also, there were a few cases of hoof and mouth disease discovered in Europe and it's looking like a lot of the European stock will be prohibited from coming to market. Nothing is for certain yet but the value of my cattle may be set to increase. So, with these issues going on how am I supposed to value my land and cattle? If I go with the $10.6M figure and an auditor comes up with $18.4M who is right? How much do I have to pay accountants and lawyers to come up with a number and then defend it if it's contested? What happens if the state listens to an environmental group that discovered a certain subspecies of grouse that lives on my land and declared the grouse a protected species which now means that I can no longer graze cattle in their habitat?

A wealth tax sounds like a really nifty idea until you get into the logistics of actually calculating asset value.
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LOL The "logistics" are already in place. Your land has the value that the State has determined for their taxes. Your "art" has the value that it is insured for, your stocks have the value the stock exchange gives them. Plus you are not eligible for the wealth tax with $10 million in assets. People with over 50 million in assets know their net worth to the penny because they pay accountants to keep track.
 
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mrjurrs said:
First, never said my air. How are the results of your workers efforts your work? You pay them because they make you money. If they didn't you'd fire them. Please explain how your taxes pay for all your workers education. Didn't they pay taxes too? Congratulations on your business, but you didn't do it alone.
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You said "our air"..which means that some of its yours.. is it not.

And I didn't say that my taxes pay for all my workers education. YOU tried to make the point that I did not contribute to that education but benefited from it. When the fact is.. I pay a ton of taxes that benefit education.. in fact.. I probably pay MORE in taxes than what was necessary for my employees.. in other words.. I am subsidizing OTHER people.. other than just my workers.

Congratulations on your business, but you didn't do it alone.
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Never said I did. but then again.. I PAY for those employees that help me.. and I PAY large amounts of taxes for the services etc...

SO..you make the claim on how the money I earn is actually yours.
 
jaeger19 said:
You said "our air"..which means that some of its yours.. is it not.

And I didn't say that my taxes pay for all my workers education. YOU tried to make the point that I did not contribute to that education but benefited from it. When the fact is.. I pay a ton of taxes that benefit education.. in fact.. I probably pay MORE in taxes than what was necessary for my employees.. in other words.. I am subsidizing OTHER people.. other than just my workers.

Never said I did. but then again.. I PAY for those employees that help me.. and I PAY large amounts of taxes for the services etc...

SO..you make the claim on how the money I earn is actually yours.
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Well income tax rates are at record lows and your employees taxes, wages and benefits are fully deductible from you income so there is that. No one has said you don't pay taxes but what we are finding is that they are too low. Too much of increased profits are being directed upwards where they languish and slow economic growth. The world is awash with capital seeking returns leading to higher risks of financial collapse. That is what you should fear not higher taxes. You will still be rich beyond your wildest dreams with higher taxes. A financial collapse could leave you penniless.

The next crash: why the world is unprepared for the economic dangers ahead
 
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Mycroft said:
The point is, the wealthy don't like to be taxed excessively and they will move if the government does it.
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What , you gonna use the old too big to fail like they did in 2008??.

If any american wealth corporation moves America would just stop?

I remind you sir of Budweiser {who really owns it] of Chrysler [{who has controlling stock } just a few.
A small reminder Honda, Toyota, just a few corporations that came to America and hired American workers, plus Walmart we all know where the majority of products comes from.:peace
 
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