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KoastPhire t1_j2eeimp wrote

Reply to comment by DrewsBag in ELI5: Tech billionaires lost $400 billion this year. Where does it go? Does anyone gain? by ChickenEnthusiast

I'll take you up on this, comrade.

If the only options are "We want Billionaires rich so we can eat the crumbs" or "We want Billionaires poor so we can all suffer" then there is merit in choosing to eat crumbs. We're proposing a third option for Billionaires to still be rich and pay their fair shares of taxes. Why is this a red herring?

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DrewsBag t1_j2ezpn1 wrote

The red herring is the % that billionaires pay in taxes. As almost all of their wealth is held in stock, it’s not income. It can all go away tomorrow because it isn’t real until someone gives you cold hard cash for it. They still pay capital gains taxes on what they sell, sales tax on what they buy, and property taxes on their possessions. The us tax system is progressive and the wealthy already pay the vast majority of taxes.

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KoastPhire t1_j2f4fss wrote

Say I have a start up. Series C funding is valued at 3 billion dollars and I own 1/3. I use my stock to secure a credit line worth $250M at the prime rate, and I go and buy 10 houses, a yatch and a plane. I haven't sold anything, but I have $200 million in assets without paying a single dollar in taxes. Why am I able to access it and spend as if I paid taxes on that? Cherry on top is that the stock is still in my name, if Series D makes my stock value 5x, not only did I spend the money, but I'm worth more.

Explain where is the "fair share" here?

I have more scenarios on how the rich avoid taxes, if you like to engage more.

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Crepuscular_Oreo t1_j2f9igv wrote

You also have $200 million in liabilities, so at this point your net worth has not increased.

The good news is that a lot of construction workers, boat builders, and airplane builders have jobs.

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KoastPhire t1_j2f9vs6 wrote

>You also have $200 million in liabilities, so at this point your net worth has not increased.

It's not about the networth if you read what I typed. It's about having these assets without paying taxes first.

>The good news is that a lot of construction workers, boat builders, and airplane builders have jobs.

So your logic is that they get a pass because $20M of the $200M goes to the worker? Or did you assume the workers get $200M of the spending? Did you factor that the workers for yatchs and planes aren't in the US?

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