[spiderice]

Exactly this. The more appropriate example is you buy a can of soda for $0.50. Hold on to it until the value goes to $2.00, then to $3.00, and eventually sell it at $1.00. You are then taxed on that $0.50 of income. But why would it make sense to tax them at the $2.00 and $3.00 price points if they didn't even sell the soda?

[paulryanrogers]

Because they can use that unrealized value to get huge loans from banks at favorable rates then claim interest paid on taxes. This and other hoop jumping allows them to pay surprisingly little compared to their worth.

[thevagrant]

Wouldn't it make sense to stipulate that loans taken against stocks are taxed in some form?

Average workers holding stocks then would not get taxed until they sell their stock. Those borrowing against the value of stocks using the strategy you mention would be taxed at a specific rate while the loan exists.

Perhaps that's too difficult or affects average people as well. The other option as another poster points out is to remove tax deduction from specific assets or cap the deduction.

[KorematsuFredt]

> huge loans from banks at favorable rates then claim interest paid on taxes

So what? The loan has to be paid back one way or another. Any time person sells his can of soda to pay that loan they pay taxes on those realized gains. If they used the loan money to create new business created new profits and paid the loan without selling the can of soda that even bigger win win as they created new wealth that made everyone more rich, paid more taxes, paid the loans as well. Not to mention when the can of soda is sold in future government can stil earn more tax revenue.

It almost makes me thing people hate others for being wealth and somehow want to see them getting hurt rather than promiting a sensible low tax policy. Isn't the world better off because Bezos or Musk can borrow against their equity and create new companies rather than handing that money over to federal government ? What possible good can come out of giving more money to federal government ?

[ilammy]

> then claim interest paid on taxes

How about removing expense deductions (all of them) from tax code? Or making deductions count only against the same source? What negative effects can that have?