> The 3.8% net investment income tax doesn't apply to real property Ah, I didn't realize that, thank you! > he's whining about having to pay an effective tax

> The 3.8% net investment income tax doesn't apply to real property Ah, I didn't realize that, thank you! > he's whining about having to pay an effective tax rate of 10-15% on his profits No, the key part of the complaint is that the combination of price rise and tax structure mean that a lateral move requires liquidity he does not have. It's a first-world problem for sure, but it's still a problem caused by the fact that we have various fairly dumb tax policies.