There's an assumption in your argument that the earnings that funded the capital gains were taxed at an appropriate rate to start with. In the case of VC/PE et

There's an assumption in your argument that the earnings that funded the capital gains were taxed at an appropriate rate to start with. In the case of VC/PE etc. it can be argued that much of the capital gains are actually income and should have been taxed as such to start with - lets face it most partners in those businesses are risking other people's money rather than their own anyway. Problem I have with tax is we tax people on their income rather than their wealth so people with low incomes regardless of their wealth pay lower taxes.