I know... it's just a campaign issue... but taxing 'unrealized gain' is a dangerous idea.


Biden Floats Billionaire Tax, Vows to ‘Protect’ Social Security

During State of the Union address, President says wealthy need to “pay their fair share” but measures face long odds in near term on Capitol Hill
Brian Anderson

President Joe Biden used Thursday night’s State of the Union address to promote taxing billionaires and protecting Social Security while accusing Republicans of wanting to give tax breaks to the wealthy and cutting Social Security.

About halfway through the 67-minute address, Biden said he’d continue to “stand up for seniors” by protecting Social Security.

“If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop you.”
President Joe Biden during Thursday’s State of the Union address

“Many of my friends on the other side of the aisle want to put Social Security on the chopping block. If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop you,” Biden said. “The working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do. It’s not fair.”

Biden didn’t get into specifics during the speech about how he plans to fix Social Security’s funding issues—just adding (after challenging Republicans about wanting to give more tax breaks to the wealthy), “I’ll protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share.”

But how he would tackle the issue is apparent from some recent Democratic proposals, including Rep. John Larson’s (D-CT) Social Security 2100 Act and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act, would require taxpayers who earn more than $400,000 to contribute to the program. Under current law, workers stop paying into Social Security when they reach an income cap ($168,600 in 2024). This applies to all workers, meaning the highest earners stop contributing to the program when they’ve reached that ceiling.

The $400,000 threshold is important to the Biden Administration because of his repeated pledges never to raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000.
Billionaire tax

Also during Thursday’s address, Biden proposed tax on the ultra-rich that would set a minimum 25% tax for anyone worth at least $100 million—the wealthiest 0.01%, generating an estimated $500 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.

“No billionaire should pay a lower federal tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker or a nurse,” Biden said Thursday. “I propose a minimum tax on billionaires of 25%—just 25%.”

While Biden’s claim during the speech said that billionaires now pay an 8.2% tax rate (from a Sept. 2021 White House calculation of tax rates), other estimates peg the rate higher. According to an Aug. 2023 study from University of California, Berkeley economist Danny Yagan, the wealthiest 400 families in the U.S. paid an average inflation-adjusted income tax rate of 12% over a roughly 30-year period from 1992 to 2020. And PolitiFact said the effective tax rate for the richest Americans is “more than 20% on the income the government counts under the current tax code.”

It’s no mystery that the ultra-wealthy generally pay a low tax rate with the help of sophisticated accountants using a variety of available tax shelters. President Biden is looking to redefine income to include unrealized capital gains and then impose minimum taxes on them.

“Billionaires make their money in ways that are often taxed at lower rates than ordinary wage income, or sometimes not taxed at all, thanks to giant loopholes and tax preferences that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest taxpayers,” reads a March 7 White House Fact Sheet on the issue.

While Biden is expected to push his billionaire tax plan as the 2024 presidential election plays out, it is extremely unlikely the proposal would gain any traction on Capitol Hill prior to the election.

https://401kspecialistmag.com/...1d2846bb0362e88b5317

What a dumbass! Billionaires don’t usually make their money as ordinary income. You could confiscate all their money and still not fund the government for more than 2 years. This is a talking point to appeal to the simple minded commies. Money will go where it is treated best. If you go after these people Atlas will shrug.

quote:

"generating an estimated $500 billion in revenue over the next 10 years."

Meanwhile the U.S. is going in debt and printing 1 trillion dollars every one hundred days. This amount will only increase as our interest payment skyrockets, and millions more stream across the border and go on welfare.

So just at today's expenditures we will be in debt at least another 36.5 trillion dollars. That 500 billion won't even put a Band-Aid on that hemorrhage.

Taxing the rich is how we got our income tax. Was sold as a 1% tax on the rich only. Now we’re all saddled with it. Tax the rich is merely a foot in the door.

The feral government burns through a billion in less than 12 hours and that is just on the interest on the debt. They need to quit borrowing and printing money instead of dreaming up new taxes.

quote:

taxing 'unrealized gain'

Does that mean I can potentially get a refund for my unrealized capital losses?

No. It is another stupid idea. Next thing he will forgive is mortgage payments for new homeowners.

https://twitter.com/jj_talking.../1766585718602633597

quote:

Originally posted by dking271:
What a dumbass! Billionaires don’t usually make their money as ordinary income. You could confiscate all their money and still not fund the government for more than 2 years. This is a talking point to appeal to the simple minded commies. Money will go where it is treated best. If you go after these people Atlas will shrug.

Taking all the billionaires money used to only fund the government for 7 months. I know Covid created a bunch more billionaires but I bet it still wouldn’t fund our government for two years. That’s how massive our government has become.

I know several dozen people who are clients of ours who have net worth of 20-100mm not a billion, I know but they all got lucky at a tech company. None of them have W2 income over 400k. They could sell their stock and pay through the ass on cap gains taxes. So they don’t their kinda stuck. We do have 1 client who is a legit billionaire and his taxable income is barely 1mm a year

If and when these folks ever sell their stock that’s when the .gov gets paid.

Sounds like a plan to tax our way to prosperity, yeah, that will do it.

Let’s say they get what they wish for and we confiscate the wealth of all the billionaires. That will only fund the government for 10 months. Who do they go after next?

quote:

Originally posted by Green Highlander:
Who do they go after next?

Your 401Ks.

Why have taxes at all when they can just print more money?

Putting a stop to Ukraine "aid" (nothing more than a money laundering operation on both our end and theirs) would go a long way towards shoring up SS.

This has nothing at all to do with the rich. The left have wanted to sink their teeth into tax advantaged retirement accounts for a long while. They are trying to push for as much as they can while Biden is still in office to take the blame for it.

He should of said millionaire but then more than half of congress fall into that category.

The belief that everything should be taxed is how we got here. I hope hell burns a little hotter where Wilson and his tax happy assholes reside.

/sarc on
I'm fine with a tax on gains I haven't actually made, as long as I can also get deductions for expenses and charitable contributions I also haven't made....
/sarc off

After 10 days in the Bahamas, which somehow manages to run their government without an income tax, I'm thinking the bold move is just go back to the tax rules which had been in place from the time of the Founding until 1913, and just repeal the 16th Amendment. That would take us back to the words in the Constitution:

quote:

Section 9: Powers Denied Congress
.....
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

quote:

I'm thinking the bold move is just go back to the tax rules which had been in place from the time of the Founding until 1913, and just repeal the 16th Amendment. That would take us back to the words in the Constitution:

Section 9: Powers Denied Congress
.....
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

100%

1913 was a very bad year for America as founded and for freedom:
16th Amendment
17th Amendment
Federal Reserve Act