As ProPublica notes, taxation of wealth is rare, but far from unheard of. The historical basis for property taxes (in the 18th century) was that they were the p

As ProPublica notes, taxation of wealth is rare, but far from unheard of. The historical basis for property taxes (in the 18th century) was that they were the primary source of wealth, so it's somewhat ahistorical for anyone to argue that taxation of "wealth" is novel or radical. Adam Smith argued for a "land value" tax in "The Wealth of Nations", after all. I think the ProPublica piece properly points out that such taxes are _unpopular_—justifiably or not; I have noted elsewhere that one of the primary concerns, of capital flight, is probably inapplicable to the US, which already has a global tax on residents and a burdensome reporting requirement in place.