Laws should never be used to extract wealth. Whatever the government invests effort it, it specializes in that over time and it entrenches itself. Laws and government should only exist to even the playing field of the market, allowing small businesses to rise faster.
This would be just as bad for the rich since their businesses would have more competition. The big difference is that tax goes through government, allowing politicians to have a huge incentive that benefits them, whether it's through legal means or not.
Seriously, taxes are one of the main ways governments (which is to say the people who delegate power to governments) express policy choices and guide the market. The market is a tool, just like the government is, for society to get things it wants.
I voted against it. California needs to fix its property tax problem. Raising property taxes, particularly instituting a land value tax, would require no new bureaucracy and would address the main cause of poverty in California, which is housing costs, by encouraging the highest and best use of land.
And they all glossed over the obvious illogical and likely unconstitutional aspects of the tax, and downplayed the fact that every tax like this in history has failed.
Laws should never be used to extract wealth. Whatever the government invests effort it, it specializes in that over time and it entrenches itself. Laws and government should only exist to even the playing field of the market, allowing small businesses to rise faster.
This would be just as bad for the rich since their businesses would have more competition. The big difference is that tax goes through government, allowing politicians to have a huge incentive that benefits them, whether it's through legal means or not.
> Laws should never be used to extract wealth.
Property taxes would like a word. I consider them the original wealth taxes. in 2023 they funded nearly 24% of local and state governments: https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/property-taxes-by-s...
Seriously, taxes are one of the main ways governments (which is to say the people who delegate power to governments) express policy choices and guide the market. The market is a tool, just like the government is, for society to get things it wants.
I voted against it. California needs to fix its property tax problem. Raising property taxes, particularly instituting a land value tax, would require no new bureaucracy and would address the main cause of poverty in California, which is housing costs, by encouraging the highest and best use of land.
And they all glossed over the obvious illogical and likely unconstitutional aspects of the tax, and downplayed the fact that every tax like this in history has failed.
Taxing paper gains will be a disaster.