From 50% to 24%: The Unpaid Tax Revolt Against 'The Ultra-Rich'
The 400 richest Americans paid roughly 50% of their income in taxes in the 1960s; that figure has plummeted to around 24% today. This decline fuels the core grievance: the current tax code favors accumulating assets over taxing actual earned income.
Commenters point to specific mechanisms of avoidance. dylanmorgan notes the super-rich use assets as collateral for low-interest loans, successfully avoiding realizing taxable income. The debate splits between sweeping seizure mandates, exemplified by Supervisor194’s call for seizing assets over $500 million, and procedural fixes like taxing unrealized gains. sparky argues for making it politically palatable by targeting high inheritance taxes (90% above $10m) or progressive capital gains.
The overwhelming consensus is that the tax system is fundamentally unequal and exploited. While the discussion touches on mechanisms, the actionable consensus points toward taxing fixed assets. chonglibloodsport suggests Land Value Tax (LVT) is theoretically superior because land cannot be moved to evade tax, establishing a clear fault line between theoretical ideal (LVT) and political feasibility (closing loopholes).
Key Points
Historical tax rates demonstrate massive decline in top-end tax contribution.
silence7 cited the drop from 50% tax contribution in the 1960s down to 24% today.
The wealthy exploit collateralized loans to avoid realizing income.
dylanmorgan explained the mechanism of using assets as collateral for low/zero interest loans to bypass tax realization.
Wealth Taxes or asset seizures are proposed as radical solutions.
Supervisor194 advocates for state seizure mandates over $500 million net worth, while sparky suggests procedural tax hikes instead.
Land Value Tax (LVT) is presented as the most theoretically sound tax target.
chonglibloodsport stressed that land value is location-based and cannot be moved to evade taxation like fungible assets.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.