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> The point is there exists a tax you have to pay for simply owning something Not at the federal level, and the methodology used for computing effective tax ra
by nwiswell 3y ago
> The point is there exists a tax you have to pay for simply owning something
Not at the federal level, and the methodology used for computing effective tax rates in this article (both for typical households and the centibillionaires) is explicitly federal-only, so that's not really true.
I agree with you broadly but the Constitution does not permit a federal wealth tax. The 16th Amendment authorizes only income tax.
- lotsofpulp 3y agoI’m referring to Americans philosophically accepting a wealth tax. There was no federal income tax at one point too.
- nwiswell 3y agoI'm not holding my breath. In any event I think ProPublica laying out the data in this fashion is necessary groundwork if that's going to become a part of the political consciousness. The intellectual argument for a wealth tax to control inequality has been pretty compelling ever since Capital in the Twenty-First Century, but advocating for a constitutional amendment is obviously premature.
- jandrewrogers 3y agoUS property taxes are essentially use taxes, which have analogues in other countries, not wealth taxes. If it was a wealth tax then you'd be able to deduct any outstanding mortgage debt.