- Apr 1, 2011
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Biden has reached new heights of idiocy. Does he actually believe any Republican is going to vote for that?
the worlds richest men, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, have much of their wealth in the form of stock.
As their stock rises in value, they are able to finance lavish lifestyles by taking out loans secured by their stock holdings. But loans are not taxed as income, and in many cases the interest payments are tax deductible.
The rising value of stock holdings -- known as unrealized gains -- is also not taxed as income. Capital gains taxes are only imposed when the stock is sold.
s a result, some 400 billionaire families paid an average federal tax rate of just over 8 percent of their income between 2010 and 2018, according to an estimate from the White House Office of Management and Budget and Council of Economic Advisers.
However, critics of a 'wealth tax' argue that treating unrealized gains as income is unfair and could lead to unintended consequences.
If billionaires are forced to pay taxes on the rising values of their stocks, even before they sell them at a profit, they could be forced to sell off control of companies that they founded in order to pay their tax bills, critics say.
Under Biden's new plan, billionaires already paying more than 20 percent in federal taxes would not owe additional taxes, according to the Post.
The taxes paid toward the minimum tax would count toward whatever billionaires owe whenever they sell their stock and pay ordinary capital gains taxes.
'The Billionaire Minimum Income Tax will ensure that the very wealthiest Americans pay a tax rate of at least 20 percent on their full income,'
'This minimum tax would make sure that the wealthiest Americans no longer pay a tax rate lower than teachers and firefighters.'
