[kube-system]

> He pays income tax just like everyone else.

He only paid income taxes on $80k while at Amazon.

The wealthy often make their money as capital gains, which if they held for at least one year, are exempt from the income tax and taxed at no higher than 20%

Billionaires literally have their own set of tax brackets in this country: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409

[twoodfin]

The wealthy in NYC pay the top Federal 23.8% LTCG rate, + the top New York State income tax rate (10.9%) + the NYC income tax rate (3.876%) on their long-term capital gains.

[kube-system]

Not if their second home in NYC is not their primary residence .... and like bezos, has a primary residence in a state where that isn't the case

[anamax]

> The wealthy often make their money as capital gains, which if they held for at least one year, are exempt from the income tax

Not even close. As your link shows, "the wealthy" pay taxes on long-term capital gains. The lowest rate (for "the wealthy") is 15% but they can owe 20% or even 28% in certain circumstances.

[kube-system]

I didn't say they didn't pay taxes. I said the money was exempt from the income tax, which it is.

Capital gains are not taxed as income, it is taxed as a capital gain, which has significantly lower rates than income tax.

[rootusrootus]

Even though it would hurt me, I feel like eliminating the distinction between capital gains, income, and payroll taxes would be a fairer solution.

[kube-system]

I'd be happy with just a couple of brackets added to the income and capital gains taxes to target the 0.1% and 0.01%

[SoftTalker]

Capital gains are taxed lower as an incentive to make long term investments, vs. short term speculation.

[kube-system]

That is a perfectly fine goal, however, I don't think the current structure actually accomplishes that goal very well.