This right here is what will happen if they try to tax unrealized gains. Stupid democrats think this is a good idea: they have no idea how bad this will backfire:
Lots of calls for a wealth tax lately.
It sounds good: tax the super-rich more so we can have more money for government services.
But a couple of quick things you won't hear in the sound bites.
Europe tried a wealth tax and mostly abandoned it. One big reason is that countries found that the cost of enforcing it were often higher than the tax revenue it brought in. Little to no money actually made it to those who needed it.
To tax 'wealth' you need an army of new, highly trained (and highly paid) IRS agents to comb through super complex situations. Taxing income is relatively easy. Just take a specific % of a specific number and deduct a few things. Taxing wealth is hard, messy and incredibly complex (again, don't believe me .. ask the European nations who tried and abandoned it).
And then what do you do when wealth falls?
Let's say a family is worth $20 billion. They are taxed. Their family stock (and remember that 'wealth' is going to almost always be in stock, never in income) falls by 50%. Does the IRS have to write a billion-dollar refund check back to the family for taxing them on wealth that no longer exists? The family will sue for the money back. Which means another army of IRS agents will spend years tied up in analysis and litigation. Everyday taxpayers can and will fight audits over relatively small sums of money. What do you think the rich and their team of accountants are going to do?
But we are a democracy and its voters demand it or Congress votes for it, let's give it a try. Maybe we can do taxes better than Europe. We certainly are a lot richer these days as they've driven themselves into a ditch.
One upside of a new wealth tax would certainly be on DC real estate. We'd have to hire a massive number of new, well-paid auditors who will need a place to live.
Anyway, you don't have to believe me. I work for CNBC know a lot of rich people so this will largely be discounted anyway.
Do some quick research or use Chat or Gemini or whatever and let it give you an unvarnished answer.
But like all things you hear ... things are usually more complex than simple sound bites -- or X posts -- can relate.
Always happy to have polite, kind and fair debates on any topic. Look forward to further discussion.
Go USA soccer and Go Knicks!
I was not born in the USA but thank God every day that I’m here and do what I can to show the country I love the respect it deserves.
This is a Frenchman coming to the USA to earn hundreds of millions of dollars who doesn’t believe he owes this country respect.
💥NEW: Former Biden Official Kate Bedingfield on Graham Platner: “I think it’s demoralizing that his transgressions are being overlooked … I think it’s an indictment of our party that we’re willing to look the other way on this.”
Again for those in the back, Elon once offered to cut a check for $6 BILLION to the WFB to "eliminate World hunger" as they said the money could. His one condition was that the accounting was public.
They did not accept.
So ... Congress broke the law by giving money to NGOs to fund Biolabs.
Gee ... sure seems like a slam dunk corruption case doesn't it?
@SenTomCotton what did you know about this and when?
@LeaderJohnThune ... you fingerprints are all over this
Gabbard releases intelligence showing federal government has funded 120 biolabs in 30 countries https://t.co/XNMmapmHQL via @JustTheNews
Every dollar Elon Musk has made is traceable. Every product sold, every service rendered, every government contract awarded, every share of stock bought or sold. It’s all on the record.
You, on the other hand, haven’t built a company, invented a product, or created anything people willingly pay for. You’ve spent the last 14 years collecting a $174,000 Senate salary.
Yet somehow you managed to buy a luxury D.C. condo, a $4 million Victorian mansion in Cambridge, and saw your net worth balloon by 150% to $12 million. Everyone knows where Musk’s money came from. The same can’t be said for yours.
@RepMcGovern@elonmusk $455M from 2014-2017 and $11B in 2021 but you pick a year he didn’t make any money. Is that a lie by omission? Or just the usual government bullshit? Y oh people do realize all that money isn’t sitting in a suitcase somewhere don’t you? That it’s tied up in his business?
@RepMcGovern@elonmusk How dishonest of you! Why would you post only one year where he didn’t pay taxes? Why wouldn’t you post ever year? Bc he paid a lot of taxes those other years maybe?
The evidence Tulsi released today proves that Mitt Romney is a neocon shill who should not be trusted in the GOP.
Isn’t it interesting the entire Democrat party (and uniparty shills like Romney) and the media and intel community tried to paint @DNIGabbard as a Russian asset? Meanwhile they were the ones trying to destroy US foreign policy using Russia as a scapegoat. All in the name of power… gross.
@SenSanders While Senator Sanders idea of taxing unrealized gains is a horrible idea, this one is Great. SS taxes should not be capped!!! Stop capping SS taxes.
Deaths in the US so far in 2026, by cause:
Drowning: approximately 1000 (22 kids in Texas alone)
Mushroom poisoning: 4
Rattlesnake: 3
Lightning: 2
Marathon: 1
Measles: 0
And, oh yeah, overdose: approximately 30000
Let's try to scare people some MORE about measles, huh?
@SenBillCassidy@Wandameadows20 Now you say this?!?!? When you’re on your way out???? You and the rest of Congress are a pathetic joke. How about coming up with a plan that will save SS yourself, you’ll have plenty of time on your hands now that your out. Maybe you can redeem your senate career??