I'm a great fan of taxing anything that moves. The problem with unrealized capital gains is that they do not have to move, at least discernably. Yes, unrealized capital gains in traded instruments are easy to measure, and thus to tax. But private companies are not traded, or are traded in markets too thin for a trade to be a useful measure. Rich people can choose between investing in private and public companies. Therefore, a fair tax on unrealized capital gains would have to measure the value of private equity, in a fairly accurate fashion. This isn't easy. It may be do-able. If it could be done, I'd be all for it. But I'd wanna see the details first.
I'm a great fan of taxing anything that moves. The problem with unrealized capital gains is that they do not have to move, at least discernably. Yes, unrealized capital gains in traded instruments are easy to measure, and thus to tax. But private companies are not traded, or are traded in markets too thin for a trade to be a useful measure. Rich people can choose between investing in private and public companies. Therefore, a fair tax on unrealized capital gains would have to measure the value of private equity, in a fairly accurate fashion. This isn't easy. It may be do-able. If it could be done, I'd be all for it. But I'd wanna see the details first.
Long run objective
Tax wealth not income
Wealth tax plus a VAT