@ISIDEWITHQuestionsthe EconomyStarted 10mos agoActive 6hrs ago

Should the government tax unrealized gains?

An unrealized gain is an increase in the value of an asset or investment that an investor has not sold, such as an open stock position. A proposal in the Biden-Harris Administration’s 2025 budget would require households with more than $100 million in wealth to pay income taxes of at least 25 percent of their annual income, including their unrealized capital gains — gains in the value of assets that they have not yet sold. Critics argue that unrealized capital gains, which are a primary source of income for many extremely wealthy households, are mere “paper” gains that do not constitute real income (though they meet a textbook definition of income). Proponents argue that unrealized gains make asset owners (such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk) rich unless they sell their companies’ stock.

Answer Overview

Response rates from 26.9k America voters.

29%
Yes
71%
No
29%
Yes
71%
No

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @n35w101  from Oklahoma  answered…9mos9MO

Yes, real estate is already taxed annually based on their current valuation, even when not sold. I see no reason why other assets shouldn't be treated similarly.

 @9TRLW9J from Florida  answered…10mos10MO

The value of an asset is based on what someone is willing to pay for it. If the item has not sold then there is only speculation on the value. It’s not fair to tax anyone on someone else’s speculation of value.

 @9TSHCBZ from North Carolina  answered…10mos10MO

Only if two criteria are met: 1. it would only apply to individuals with net unrealized gains in a given year of $100 million + 2. they would be able to take unrealized losses against the unrealized gains.

 @B5N9D7M from New York  answered…1mo1MO

Instead increase taxes on real income of large corporations, and impeach Trump for gutting social welfare to cut taxes for the billionaires

 @9TSRQSW from Arizona  answered…10mos10MO

25% is way to much to tax anybody, just because they are making more money than others doesn't mean that they should get a quarter of their annual income taken from them

 @9TSHJQ2 from West Virginia  answered…10mos10MO

No, unrealized gains can drop due to the nature of them not being sold. Only realized gains should be taxed because they are locked in. Unrealized gains can become a loss quickly.

 @9TTFYGH from Texas  answered…10mos10MO

I can swallow my pride and acknowledge that I'm not educated enough to give a nuanced answer on this topic. If you're asking "should we tax Bezos' 38 trillion Amazon shares he hasn't sold yet" then sure, why not

 @9TZ3ZX6  from New Jersey  answered…9mos9MO

Yes, but only for households above a certain amount (ie households with more than $100 million in wealth)

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…10mos10MO

Israel Missile Strike Kills 5 U.S. Aid Workers

The Israeli military fired a missile, killing five people in the lead vehicle of an aid convoy in Gaza that it claimed had been hijacked by militants.The military also said it killed a top Hamas commander and two other fighters Friday as its large-scale operations in the West Bank continued into a third day.The D.C.-based nonprofit that organized the convoy, American Near East Refugee Aid, known as Anera, described it as a “shocking incident” in a statement Friday and said that those killed were from a local transportation company. It was urgently seeking more details about the incident.The convoy had been delivering medical supplies and fuel to an Emirati-run hospital in Rafah, Palestine Country Director Sandra Rasheed said in the statement to The Washington Post, and its route was coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces.Thursday’s incident is one of several such attacks this week. In remarks to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, the U.S. representative, Robert Wood, referred to an incident that occurred Sunday, according to U.N. officials, in which he said the IDF fired toward a UNICEF vehicle.On Tuesday, at least 10 rounds were fired into a World Food Program vehicle, which the United Nations blamed on Israel and prompted WFP to temporarily suspend staff movement across Gaza. Wood said the Biden administration was “deeply alarmed” by Tuesday’s shooting and urged Israel to “immediately rectify the issues within their system that allowed this to happen.”

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