Dems' Wealth Tax Bill Would Extend Social Security Solvency by 75+ Years: Analysis - eviltoast
  • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Wealth taxes are opposed by essentially all economists for being a nightmare to administer, raising less revenue than planned, and causing significant capital flight and other detrimental economic effects. Beyond that, there are also serious Constitutional questions. The Federal Income Tax had to be explicitly authorized by a Constitutional Amendment, remember. I’d be very skeptical that this SCOTUS would find that

    The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes

    actually meant to authorize a tax on wealth, not income.

    Social Security is obviously a mess, but there are other options. Income past $160,000 isn’t subject to SSA taxes. Raising that limit would do quite a lot, though it would anger some wealthy doctors, lawyers, and software engineers who like to pretend to be progressive.