Taxes, Incentives and Fairness
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-09-12/why-american-workers-pay-twice-as-much-in-taxes-as-wealthy-investors
The Bloomberg piece notes:
The Bloomberg piece notes:
“Taxing workers
more than investors is fair, conservatives also argue, because investors and
workers are really the same people at different stages of their lives. When
you’re young, you save and pay high tax rates on your wages. When you’re old,
you get to enjoy the lightly taxed proceeds of that invested income.
The wrench in these
arguments is the massive jump in inherited American wealth—driven by rising
income inequality and loose tax laws. In practice, the person who successfully
accumulates assets is often not the person who spends them. Affluent retirees
are increasingly reluctant to even touch their nest eggs. A huge and
disproportionate share of the nation’s largest fortunes is in the hands of
people in their 80s and 90s. And the estate tax, already very easy for the
wealthy to avoid, is targeted for elimination by the Trump administration.”