General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Taxing wealth is the next logical step [View all]"I don't WANT an incentive to screw up that land and turn it into a subdivision. "
Exactly. That's the first criticism that came to my mind. But again, with a high exemption it makes me think: How many people are sitting on $10+ million worth of non-income producing property that can't afford to pay a small tax? When the DeVos family and a couple dozen other extremely rich people mounted an attack on inheritance taxes one of the arguments that got a little traction with the public was the notion that people would lose family farms and businesses. But you know what? When challenged, they were not able to find a single example of this happening. Not one. Why? Because the exemptions are so high, they are designed to give all but the very richest a pass. A thoughtful tax regime would probably allow for conservation easements and so forth. A well designed policy could make your objections inapplicable.