Wealth taxes are highly punitive and increasingly shown to be ineffective, and especially so in today’s world where both people and their wealth can easily move around the globe to more tax-attractive destinations.
I recommend reading the Tax Foundation’s comprehensive report on Wealth Taxes to see why Gary is wrong. An excerpt:
A Tax Foundation analysis from 2014 found that the effect of a potential version of Piketty’s wealth tax on the U.S. economy, even with a EUR 200,000 exemption, would be devastating. Over a 10-year period, wages would be 5.2 percent lower, 1.12 million jobs would be lost, the capital stock would be 16.5 percent lower than otherwise, and the overall economy would have 6.1 percent less output than the status quo, resulting in a loss of USD 1 trillion (EUR 0.92 trillion). Additionally, the revenue generated by the new tax, accounting for the GDP decline, would amount to only USD 63 billion (EUR 58 billion).
Gary is a self-promoting narcissist who likes to constantly remind viewers that he’s a millionaire and “the best f*cking trader in the world”. His tax-the-rich policy proposal seems to be borne out of pursuing an ideology of tax “justice” as opposed to achievable tax revenue.
Thinking of it from a point of view of achievable tax revenue would force you to consider what is fair and progressive, but without it being punitive.
His policy rests on the assumption that any increased tax revenue will be well spent by government. He’s effectively advocating for bigger government as a solution to society’s ills without considering the validity of that.
I agree wit @GDVS that we should focus on wealth generation (which in turns leads to larger tax receipts). This is why I propose we Abolish Capital Gains tax to boost investment.
