(Washington Insider Magazine) -The House Democratic majority is under pressure to find a way to pay for their huge budget reconciliation package. They are now seeking support for the wealthiest Americans to do so.
The Democratic Party proposes billionaires be taxed on the annual gain in the value of certain assets each year, rather than being taxed at the sale price, as is currently the case. The result is that the wealthy often borrow against their holdings to build wealth and sustain their lifestyles while avoiding additional taxes. This benefit will be lost if this proposal passes.
The bill will not affect anyone below the top wealth-level people, which is approximately 700 people with assets greater than $1 billion and incomes exceeding $100 million over three years. People such as Jeff Bezos (the founder of Amazon) and Elon Musk (the CEO of Tesla) are within that top 700 level of wealth.
On tradable assets, such as stocks and bonds, billionaires pay capital gains tax at a rate of 23.8%. The gains can be taken into account at the end of every year. There are cases in which an organization can carry forward losses to offset future taxable income, capital gains, or, in some cases, for a period of three years.
There are many assets out there that contribute significantly to the wealth of the wealthy, but they are becoming increasingly difficult to value each year. This difficulty is something that needs to be considered. It is proposed to treat non-tradable assets such as real estate or financial interests in companies as tradable assets.
These assets would not be subject to an annual tax. Instead, billionaires would have to pay capital gains taxes and interest charges for the sale of their assets. The interest charge will be calculated if the asset was subject to capital gains tax each year and deferred the capital gains tax. The federal short-term interest rate plus one point would apply, which is currently 1.22%.
Billionaires will pay the first tax levy over five years if the transition to the marked-to-market system is made. Shareholders can also choose to treat tradable stock of a single company up to $1 million as a non-tradable property. This option will allow successful founders to keep control of their companies.
Legislators are working quickly to develop the necessary mechanisms to pay for the massive social spending package to pay for it. There is a requirement that a minimum tax rate of 15% is imposed to make this package available.
On Sunday, Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, told Jake Tapper that the billionaire tax plan could generate up to $250 billion in tax revenue. Budget reconciliation packages are estimated to cost around $2 trillion. However, additional revenue and tax measures will be needed to pay for the package’s costs.
Even though Democratic politicians have long sought to use the wealth of the wealthy to fund social programs and reduce income inequality, their goal has not been realized. Time will tell if they are successful this time.
