To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors

Re:To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors by sokoloff on Sunday September 03, 2017 @09:57PM (#15165145)

I don't seek to eliminate wealth; that's a terrible policy IMO. Moderating its growth and concentration only slightly is far less disruptive or fraught with unintended/unknowable consequences.

An annual wealth tax of 10% would wipe out most wealth concentrations within 50 years. I think such a level is absurdly too high, though.

Looking at Switzerland as an example, I think 0.25% to maybe as much as 1% range is far more reasonable (roughly in range with their wealth taxation today) with a per-household exemption of $1MM or thereabouts [to prevent nuisance calculations over $10 in taxes].

> note how these benefits only arise when the investor liquidates his investment

"essentially devoid of the concerns of financial catastrophe" is a tremendous benefit that confers to the wealth holder without need of spending the wealth.

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Re:To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors by jiggunjer on Monday September 04, 2017 @01:08AM (#15165863)

In the Netherlands there is about 30% tax on financial returns and an additional 1.2% tax on assets (wealth) above a certain threshold.

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Re:To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors by sobani on Monday September 04, 2017 @06:05AM (#15167041)

The 1.2% tax on assets is the 30% tax on financial returns. It's just that at some point the government was like: "math is hard, let's go shopping^w^w assume the average return in 4%".

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