I thought we should bring some attention to this.

  • AliasAKA@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    So the real / original answer to this was the idea that we should avoid double taxation. If you were taxed on income already, and then invested that income which is now post tax, that capital gains then should be less taxed (or some argue not taxed) because you already paid taxes on it.

    I’m of the opinion that I think taxes should be based on any income you make, based on the wealth you have. Source of income for the wealthiest should be irrelevant (and yes this includes in my mind realizing gains from stocks by borrowing against them).

    • Croquette@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      The double tax argument is dumb because the money you’ve put in is not taxed, thus the capital gain.

      So there is no double tax because only the portion that wasn’t taxed is.

      • AliasAKA@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Well they’d argue that the money they put in is taxed, presumably because it was income and subject to income tax. So any income used to assess tax, they’d argue is taxed.

        I’d just argue any income (including from capital gains) should be taxed according to your wealth. I don’t care if it has already been assessed for tax. If it’s income, and you already have excessive wealth, you should be paying a hefty tax. The point of taxes is redistribution of wealth and communal improvement (eg infrastructure) so I really don’t care if something is taxed once twice or more times, I care that wealth is taxed and used for public good.

        • Jojo, Lady of the West@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          6 months ago

          Capital gains taxes are only levied against the profit earned from investment, not the gross value returned to the stakeholder.

          If someone buys a stock for $100, then later sells it for $150, only $50 is taxed. So the money that was “already taxed” by income taxes isn’t being double taxed at all, regardless of the rate of the capital gains tax.

          Unless, of course, you count the fact that it was taxed as income by the person who gave it to you, in which case all money has been taxed numerous times before and the argument is that taxes in general are bad.

          • AliasAKA@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            Yeah, I think in general people come up with veiled reasons for lower taxes but fundamentally it’s just because they don’t want to pay taxes at all.

            I like taxes. I like having roads (though I want more public transportation), I like having firefighters and public parks and protected green spaces and…