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> Only founder led companies and family owned businesses can stand up to the immense pressure from the dogmas of modern finance. > The proposed tax on unrealiz

> Only founder led companies and family owned businesses can stand up to the immense pressure from the dogmas of modern finance. > The proposed tax on unrealized capital gains will force founders to sell larger and larger pieces of their companies to pay the tax, until eventually they lose control of their businesses and turn them over to the Wall Street sharks to run their disastrous playbook. I agree with this argument. Love him or hate him, with a tax on unrealized capital gains someone such as Elon Musk would not have been able to drive Tesla to profits thus forcing the automotive industry towards EV's. Moreover, we would have fallen behind decades in the space race.

dragonwriter 5y ago
> Love him or hate him, with a tax on capital gains someone such as Elon Musk would not have been able to drive Tesla to profits thus forcing the automotive industry towards EV's. Yes he would have. One, because there is a tax on capital gains, and he did; you probably mean an unrealized capital gains tax, but... Two, it is quite possible (and explicitly a motivation of the proposed law, so impossible for any honest critic to overlook) to borrow against public tradable assets, and if they are gaining value fast enough that a 20% tax on unrealized gains would significantly erode your holdings you can do so at interest rates far below the value growth, essentially without limit (that's how people fund lavish lifestyles without taxes on unrealized gains already), so he would be able to use that method to pay taxes without any dilution of ownership.
- DevKoala 5y ago
  You think he would have doubled down on the risk? Perhaps, but I know it would have been another obstacle in the road for him. At what point does it stop being worth it for him? I do not like his social media antics, and hate to even bring him up as an example since I am tired of hearing of him. However, the guy works like a madman for goals that mainly benefit all of humanity to whom he owes nothing. History will look kindly on him and down on all of us that did so much to hold him back. Edit: thank you for pointing out I missed the "unrealized" bit.

dragonwriter 5y ago

> Love him or hate him, with a tax on capital gains someone such as Elon Musk would not have been able to drive Tesla to profits thus forcing the automotive industry towards EV's. Yes he would have. One, because there is a tax on capital gains, and he did; you probably mean an unrealized capital gains tax, but... Two, it is quite possible (and explicitly a motivation of the proposed law, so impossible for any honest critic to overlook) to borrow against public tradable assets, and if they are gaining value fast enough that a 20% tax on unrealized gains would significantly erode your holdings you can do so at interest rates far below the value growth, essentially without limit (that's how people fund lavish lifestyles without taxes on unrealized gains already), so he would be able to use that method to pay taxes without any dilution of ownership.

DevKoala 5y ago
You think he would have doubled down on the risk? Perhaps, but I know it would have been another obstacle in the road for him. At what point does it stop being worth it for him? I do not like his social media antics, and hate to even bring him up as an example since I am tired of hearing of him. However, the guy works like a madman for goals that mainly benefit all of humanity to whom he owes nothing. History will look kindly on him and down on all of us that did so much to hold him back. Edit: thank you for pointing out I missed the "unrealized" bit.