It looks like the latest scheme being proposed to pay for the rampant Federal spending of the Progressives is unrealized capital gains. Basically this would be taxing the ANTICIPATED INCREASE in value of investments even if they aren't sold or traded. While this is supposedly tailored for big investors and plutocrats, it has the possibility of trickling down to a wider range of investments, like those held by trading institutions, since there's no reason the plutocrats won't be using them. The problem is that "gains" aren't real until the security is sold or traded. What may be a gain today could be a loss tomorrow. It could also trickle down to other capital investments like real estate or...gulp...airplanes.
Of course, we've been dealing with property tax for quite a while, but it's usually based on appraisals done over longer periods and there are mechanisms for contesting them or even applying for refunds if the appraisal is wildly out of range with the actually sale price of the property.
It's no surprise that the Feds aren't casting envious eyes on the mountain of "value" accumulating in the securities markets. I lived in a State that once had an "intangibles" tax based on the annual value of investments that were held in "intangible" things like stocks, bonds, and bank deposits. Despite being hard to administer, it also tended to drive away folks who had a lot of those investments...typically older folks, and made industries there uncompetitive. Doing the same thing on the Federal level promises to drive away US investment.
Of course, we've been dealing with property tax for quite a while, but it's usually based on appraisals done over longer periods and there are mechanisms for contesting them or even applying for refunds if the appraisal is wildly out of range with the actually sale price of the property.
It's no surprise that the Feds aren't casting envious eyes on the mountain of "value" accumulating in the securities markets. I lived in a State that once had an "intangibles" tax based on the annual value of investments that were held in "intangible" things like stocks, bonds, and bank deposits. Despite being hard to administer, it also tended to drive away folks who had a lot of those investments...typically older folks, and made industries there uncompetitive. Doing the same thing on the Federal level promises to drive away US investment.
