Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) proposed a 70 percent tax rate on incomes above $10 million. unveiled her plan for a 3 percent wealth tax on billionaires, or 2 percent on households with assets above $50 billion. The more socialist countries of northern Europe abandoned tax rates above 70 percent because they spawned countless schemes for tax avoidance. We can also learn from experience with the wealth tax, which many European countries abandoned because of the difficulties in calculating the tax and the ease with which it is avoided. Nearly the same amount of money could be raised from the same people by modestly increasing the income tax on investment profits and applying to unrealized gains at death.

Source: Washington Post February 05, 2019 13:41 UTC