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Now that she’s a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren plans to give the progressive agenda a boost by introducing a bill that would create the nation’s first-ever tax on total assets.
This so-called “wealth tax” would consider anything and everything owned by a taxpayer in computing the taxes owed. More than double taxation – which is taxing the same income twice as happened with the Death Tax – the taxes the former Democratic presidential candidate wants to put on the books would essentially tax savings, investments, and real property over and over and over again.
According to some early static estimates, Warren’s proposal could generate as much as $2.75 trillion per year – but that does not take into account any change in behavior that might occur on the part of the taxpayers on whom it would be assessed.
A study recently released by the non-partisan American Action Forum found a wealth tax would lead to a decrease in innovation and investment, drive down wages and cause unemployment and produce a $1.1 trillion shrinking in U.S. gross domestic product over the first ten years of its existence. In subsequent decades, GDP would be smaller by about $283 billion, a 1 percent annual decrease from current projections.
The Warren plan would impose this new tax, published reports indicate, on taxpayers with assets above $50 million at a top rate of 6 percent per year while giving the U.S. Internal Revenue Service far greater power than it currently enjoys. With a wealth tax on the books, the IRS would have to hire thousands of new agents and auditors to keep track of all the assets held by those of whom the tax falls, to account for them, and assign them proper valuation at tax time.
Also included in the draft of Warren’s plan circulating through the nation’s capital is a 40 percent “exit tax” to be imposed on anyone who seeks to leave the United States permanently and is reminiscent of the so-called “tax” forced upon Jewish individuals and families seeking to emigrate from Nazi Germany in the years prior to the onset of World War II.
There are some, even in Warren’s own party, who doubt the plan is legitimate.
“We are tax law professors who identify as liberal Democrats, donate to Democratic candidates, publicly opposed the Trump tax cuts, and strongly support higher taxes on the affluent,” Daniel Hemel and Rebecca Kysar recently wrote in the New York Times. “We are worried, though, that leading figures in our party are coalescing around an idea whose constitutionality is doubtful at best.”
Warren’s plan is one of several under consideration on Capitol Hill that, on paper, raise tremendous amounts of money for the U.S. government. Unlike tax changes that achieve such ends by stimulating economic growth, however, her plan would simply redistribute income already earned, long a progressive objective.
To date, there has been no comment from the Biden Administration on the Warren wealth tax or any of the similar proposals under consideration. For his part, President Joe Biden remains committed to his promised repeal of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in its entirety. If he’s successful, that would violate his repeated campaign pledge in which he vowed no American family making less than $400,000 per year would see their taxes go up “by one thin dime.”
Peter Roff is a former U.S. News & World Report contributing editor now affiliated with several Washington, D.C. public policy organizations. He appears regularly as a commentator on the One America News network. Reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.
Peter Roff
Peter Roff is affiliated with several Washington, D.C. public policy organizations and is a former U.S. News and World Report contributing editor who appears regularly as a commentator on the One America News network. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.
Pocahontas wants our money but she probably has off shore accounts that shield her from taxes. Commiecrats are good at spending other people’s money
You know there are multitudes of loopholes they can use to minimize or avoid completely the tax.
One of the very distinct advantages politicians have over we peons who have few connections is that they have the inside information on what laws are pending and what laws are apt to be passed. They can then reinvest their assets in areas and fields that they will exempt from the taxes they advocate. LBJ was a mastermind at this. Kerry is running him a close second.
Pocahontas wants our money but she probably has off shore accounts to hide her crooked money
She needs a new teepee lol
apply same to Dems to since they have $$$$ IE Hollywood
Warren is a whack job, she needs to lose her seat in Congress!
There should be ONE tax, on purchases of goods and services. Democrats are going the opposite direction from what makes sense. The states have figured it out, but Democrats are either clueless or corrupt.
Pocahontas is an ignorant lib who lies and cheats. She is a typical demorat, take advantage of the American people.
– A stupid proposal from a stupid woman. She was more fun when she was pretending to be a Native American.
It’s
It’s the equivalent of the FEDERAL MAFIA.
Sitting Bullshit Warren belongs in the rubber room along with Democrats Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, AOC etc!
A wealth tax is Unconstitutional, e.g. the 16th Amendment!
P.S. The exit tax is also Unconstitutional!
Welcome to Democrap commie take over of the United States of America. Why do we listen to these fools. they lie at every turn and steal everything in sight. then blame us. Congress needs another raise so they want more of your money. I figure that’s why they want digital money so they can see what your doing and take what they want off the top any time. Hello. Comrade!
how can this B*tch, who has lied her entire life ever be in authority of anything??? She has always profited and enriched herself based on nothing but lies!!!!!
You just can’t fix DUMBARSE….what a bunch of criminal losers…and you can quote me. I hope you folks are happy with the monsters you’ve created and elected….they’re voracious, they eat their young and they will consume you as well…they are equal opportunity in that respect!
Princess Full-of-Bullshite proving she’s an Idiot once again. Why Pees-In-Depends ever got elected says volumes about the intelligence of her constituents.
The more they can get, the more they want, and the more they can confiscate the more they spend. These communists are drunk on greed, and drunk on ABSOLUTE POWER and ABSOLUTE CONTROL of us and our paychecks. They have a never ending hunger and thirst for our money and power and control over us and our paychecks. If they have the power and control over us, they control our paychecks, not to mention our homes, our land, and every asset we own. We are their possession, they own us and our country…. they think they are our slave masters, “We The People” are their peons, their cash cow… we are only fit to contribute to their bank accounts, which is their private IRS, of which the democrat mafia control the purse strings. They treat illegal aliens and enemy terrorists better than they treat us citizens. Dear God help us.
idiocracy or kleptocracy or both
The only word the liberals know……….. tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax,tax, tax, tax, tax,
Hey pocky due unto others will come back to bite you in the a** pocky. Since nobody wanted you as prez like nobody wanted Hiloari, this is your way of getting even huh? Your as bad or just plain stupid to raise taxes like Biden that is the best way for Americans to lose their jobs, but did you ever stop to think (that means use your brain) how us ordinary people will feel and yes ordinary demoRats are wizing up to how more socialists, commie loving negative bottom feedin vermin your pathetic party has become, if you keep doing and saying what kind of awful laws you want to pass I’d advise you to think 2022 it’s right around the corner and I will also bet maybe besides the 78 million we already have and add 10-20 million more against you nobody like you bottom feeders and the destruction you’ve cause so far and your not even at 1 month in office yet! America will take over the house and senate and throw in some impeachment’s to clean house!
another rino that needs to go to the happy hunting grounds Indian my ass
If you can figure out how much you’re worth, you’re not worth much. Holdings change value by the minute. Attempting to freeze value at a given moment in time would not only be hopeless – like trying to read every word in a book at once – but would result in a market disruption approaching that moment greater than the outbreak of a major war. And how about my case? I don’t have money – my only public roads transportation is a 1987 pickup truck. I have a lot of land, acreage and farm equipment. While I’m far below Dizzie Lizzie’s cutoff point, others fall easily into that category. What is the government going to do, take a percentage of the land and rent it back to me? The same could be said of a manufacturing facility or, let us say, a coal mine which may be teetering on bankruptcy – to cite something that uses millions of dollars of equipment and the value of which is prone (currently) to change with the political wind? Will the government just decide what you’re worth, tax you for it and leave it up to your tax attorneys to demonstrate you’re not worth that much? The number of truly lunatic people in government strikes terror into my wallet. Incidentally, and this is a jarring figure, about one out of fifteen citizens (not employed people, just citizens) of the U.S. is employed in some way by government.
And that’s a Democrat for you, they believe everything you own belongs to them and will do everything they can to take it from you. Soon they will even want to put a carbon tax the air you breathe because you exhale CO2.
Oops, I shouldn’t have given another idea about imposing a carbon tax.
The old taxation without representation!
Typical socialist goal of taking assets away from the middle class to decrease their wealth. That’s the way to impoverish people and make them slaves to the elite. Hope everyone realizes net worth includes paid off cars and houses, IRAs…..Warren should be thrown out of Congress.
So will they take 40% of the assets of people coming into the country or charge them the equivalent amount of money of the average person leaving the country? They have to raise taxes to pay for all the benefits they plan to give out to illegal immigrants. This is just as crazy as everything else they have planned.
Gee, I always wanted to give everything I own and all of my income to the Government. Its been my life goal. I guess that’s what you can expect from a Banana Republic.
When Warren was in the running for the Democratic primary I heard that she was worth around $20 million. With her $50 mil threshold she made sure to exclude herself from this tax.
Watch Congress exempt themselves, assistants, etc. from the tax like all good Liberals do.
And I thought the Fair Tax scheme was confiscatory and unfair to the working stiff. This plan by Fauxahauntus would destroy any incentive to work, save, and as a by-product improve the economy in the United States
It sounds quite similar in fairness to the Fair Tax Scheme by Neil Boortz and John Linder, both plans screw the industrious saver who tries to provide for himself ie tax it when it is earned and tax it again when it is spent.