[notJim]

Another person suggested this idea and the thread, and this was the problem I had with it:

> Ultimately, all corporations are owned by tax-paying people (or nonprofits). So why not tax their distributions as income?

Many companies don't pay dividends and sit on their profits for a long period of time, so in practice, that money might never be taxed.

[byrneseyeview]

But if the money is never distributed, how does it benefit the shareholders? My thought experiment from earlier in the thread: what is the net present value of a billion dollars in cash, if I put it on a rocket and launch it into space? If you can't get the money, you can't spend the money, and you can't enjoy the money.

You could theoretically borrow against those assets, but only if your lender expected you to be paid. That's the beauty of the plan: it means that the only taxable event is the one that materially benefits you.

[joesb]

Owner of the share/company is going to want to use that profits before they die, so the transfer of money from company to individual will happen one day.

[notJim]

But certainly not all of it. As another commenter upthread put it, I might have a company that makes $5 billion/year and a $100 million/year lifestyle. I will never spend all of that money.