Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Tax the rich. That’s the solution to all our problems, if Democrats are to be believed.
Now that the Party is gearing up for the 2020 elections, news outlets are pointing out that money from the rich won’t pay for all their promises. Of course, these stories are being written now, in early 2019, so that they won’t have to be written in 2020 and damage the chances of a Democrat beating President Donald Trump.
The most recent addition to the list of outlets acknowledging that taxing the rich won’t pay for the Democrats free-for-all policies is Politico.
“There are many reasons a direct tax on wealth might not work: First, rich people have a wide range of tax avoidance schemes. Second, it’s hard to measure wealth in order to assess tax levels, especially assets like art. On top of that, there are legal and constitutional questions about targeting a particular demographic,” the outlet reported.
Politico went on to point out that Europe has largely abandoned the wealth tax.
The Daily Wire previously reported on Europe’s abandonment of the wealth tax. Just three European countries still employ one: Norway, Spain, and Switzerland.
“According to reports by the OECD and others, there were some clear themes with the policy: it was expensive to administer, it was hard on people with lots of assets but little cash, it distorted saving and investment decisions, it pushed the rich and their money out of the taxing countries—and, perhaps worst of all, it didn’t raise much revenue,” NPR previously reported.
Democrats seem to think they can force the wealthy in this country into paying the tax. UC Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman told NPR the tax plan could trap Americans.
“Unlike in the European Union, it’s impossible to freely move to another country or state to escape national taxes. Existing U.S. law also taxes citizens wherever they are, so even if they do sail to a tax haven in the Caribbean, they’re still on the hook. On top of that, Warren’s plan includes an ‘exit tax,’ which would confiscate 40 percent of all a person’s wealth over $50 million if they renounce their citizenship,” NPR reported.
Despite the obvious problems with such a tax, Americans consistently poll highly on the programs promised by Democrats. Some 60% favored Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) plan to tax wealth to pay for universal child care. Another poll from Politico found 50% support for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) estate tax expansion.
If only an honest media would call out these politicians each time they promise to pay for one of their expensive plans by simply taxing the wealthy more, perhaps by pointing out that the proposals cost more than the conceivable revenue from the new tax.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) seems to have finally gotten the message, recently acknowledging that high taxes in his state have caused the wealthy to move.
“Tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich. We did that. God forbid the rich leave,” Cuomo said.