Saturday
2015-10-08, 22:41
http://media.giphy.com/media/OQ7phVSLg3xio/giphy.gif
So I've been thinking a lot about wealth taxes lately.
First: what is a wealth tax?
A wealth tax (also called a capital tax, equity tax, or net worth tax) is a levy on the total value of personal assets, including owner-occupied housing; cash, bank deposits, money funds, and savings in insurance and pension plans; investment in real estate and unincorporated businesses; and corporate stock, financial securities, and personal trusts. Typically liabilities (primarily mortgages and other loans) are deducted, hence it is sometimes called a net wealth tax.
Things like this tend to get proposed quite a bit. The UK's Green Party (https://www.greenparty.org.uk/assets/files/Wealth%20Tax%20briefing%20July%202014.pdf) tried it at one point, I believe. France has a wealth tax, and Norway and Lichtenstein both have versions of them.
I think it's highly unlikely that something like this could happen in the US. But let's play pretend for a bit-- regardless of the fact that it would be incredibly difficult for something like this to actually happen, do you guys think that a wealth tax could help the United States? Or would it cause more problems than it solved?
So I've been thinking a lot about wealth taxes lately.
First: what is a wealth tax?
A wealth tax (also called a capital tax, equity tax, or net worth tax) is a levy on the total value of personal assets, including owner-occupied housing; cash, bank deposits, money funds, and savings in insurance and pension plans; investment in real estate and unincorporated businesses; and corporate stock, financial securities, and personal trusts. Typically liabilities (primarily mortgages and other loans) are deducted, hence it is sometimes called a net wealth tax.
Things like this tend to get proposed quite a bit. The UK's Green Party (https://www.greenparty.org.uk/assets/files/Wealth%20Tax%20briefing%20July%202014.pdf) tried it at one point, I believe. France has a wealth tax, and Norway and Lichtenstein both have versions of them.
I think it's highly unlikely that something like this could happen in the US. But let's play pretend for a bit-- regardless of the fact that it would be incredibly difficult for something like this to actually happen, do you guys think that a wealth tax could help the United States? Or would it cause more problems than it solved?