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There's absolutely no reason to not tax capital gains as ordinary income. It is the single most blatant, regressive feature of our entire tax system that wealth
by ramesh31 3y ago
There's absolutely no reason to not tax capital gains as ordinary income. It is the single most blatant, regressive feature of our entire tax system that wealthy people can receive their income at a significantly lower marginal rate with zero deductions for FICA.
- cycrutchfield 3y agoEconomists seem to disagree with you
- RandallBrown 3y agoIf it was taxed as ordinary income, this tax would be illegal in Washington.There was a whole legal battle about whether or not this was an income tax or not. I suspect it might still end up with this tax being repealed. I believe the given reason for a capital gains tax is to promote investment. Edit: I was mistaken about income taxes being banned by the state constitution.
- ramesh31 3y ago>I believe the given reason for a capital gains tax is to promote investment. Right. That's the regressive nature of it. Benefitting the investor class at the expense of social programs. Let's reverse that for a second. I could do a whole hell of a lot of investing in myself with the extra 20 grand a year in my pocket that being taxed at a capital gains rate and not paying FICA would leave me with.
- greyface- 3y ago> Income taxes are banned by the state constitution. Non-uniform income taxes are banned by the state constitution. A flat tax on all income, regardless of amount, would have been legal.
- jandrewrogers 3y ago> Income taxes are banned by the state constitution. This is incorrect. Income taxes are only required to be flat. Many other states of all political persuasions have flat income taxes, Washington as a single-party state has chosen not to implement a similar tax.