Loans aren’t income. They only reason this ‘move’ works at all is because they are creating value at a rate that exceeds the interest rate + inflation. Other than the scale of the ‘tactic’, it’s no different from taking a home equity loan to improve your home so that the amount it sells for has increased by more than was lost from the interest on/repayment of the loan.
Realize that the lenders giving these ultra-wealthy these loans are not in the business of throwing their money out the window for fun. They make these loans only because they get repaid, with enough interest to make being without those funds in the meantime worth it for them.
Then the stocks used as collateral should be taxed as realized gains.
Since we’re talking about changes to the tax code, we could make it so that it only applies to loans over some arbitrary amount, say 10x the median yearly income of the bottom 50% of earners (within a certain time period to counter multiple smaller loans as loopholes).
Then the stocks used as collateral should be taxed as realized gains.
Why? They haven’t been realized. Literally nothing happens to collateral unless the loan is defaulted on. Do you think you should your house should be treated as realized gains (i.e. the same as if you sold it), if you take out a home equity loan?
we could make it so that it only applies to loans over some arbitrary amount…(within a certain time period to counter multiple smaller loans as loopholes)
This is literally impossible to realistically enforce, total waste of resources and effort to even try. Myriad ways to spread it out over different people/entities/etc.
Fair enough, but if you want to start taxing the ultra wealthy, you have to start somewhere. Those loans are their main source of income.
Loans aren’t income. They only reason this ‘move’ works at all is because they are creating value at a rate that exceeds the interest rate + inflation. Other than the scale of the ‘tactic’, it’s no different from taking a home equity loan to improve your home so that the amount it sells for has increased by more than was lost from the interest on/repayment of the loan.
Realize that the lenders giving these ultra-wealthy these loans are not in the business of throwing their money out the window for fun. They make these loans only because they get repaid, with enough interest to make being without those funds in the meantime worth it for them.
Then the stocks used as collateral should be taxed as realized gains.
Since we’re talking about changes to the tax code, we could make it so that it only applies to loans over some arbitrary amount, say 10x the median yearly income of the bottom 50% of earners (within a certain time period to counter multiple smaller loans as loopholes).
Why? They haven’t been realized. Literally nothing happens to collateral unless the loan is defaulted on. Do you think you should your house should be treated as realized gains (i.e. the same as if you sold it), if you take out a home equity loan?
This is literally impossible to realistically enforce, total waste of resources and effort to even try. Myriad ways to spread it out over different people/entities/etc.