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Comment by jdmoreira | Hacker News Reader

The truly wealthy are impossible to tax. They will just move their wealth elsewhere or exploit all kinds of loopholes.

Best you can do is tax income a lot and capital gains at 30%. Which is exactly what we do in Europe.

This argument is so lazy. Simply levy a tax on them each year that is their net worth multiplied by the risk-free rate. That takes care of most people with money in publicly traded companies. If people with more "diversified" portfolios try to move their money elsewhere, penalize them for it. Revoke their citizenship, make it harder for them to do business without a majority percentage of their wealth in the US. It's not "hard" to do, we just lack the political will.

Just read this: https://nomoretax.eu/ikeas-founder-paid-tax-for-the-first-ti...

These are Swedes. Basically border-line commies from a US viewpoint, they can't even tax the owners of their most famous company.

This is the problem of a globalized free world. Where there are loops, people abuse them. But this is worked on, it just takes time. And saying that because the loops exist at the moment, it's impossible to fix them at all, is indeed a lazy argument. This is the toxic mindset which brings down all efforts.

If you'd read what I said, you'd understand why this doesn't apply.

In your system, are regular people allowed to save up enough so they no longer have to work? Or must their savings erode continually so that they're forced to work forever?

This is not "my system" just poking holes in the argument I was responding to. Let's say you don't get taxed in this manner until after $1B net worth.

> Revoke their citizenship

Literally unconstitutional in the US.

The US gov does a lot of unconstitutional things. I am just saying it's a lack of political will.

Good luck moving property.

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