Post
Topic
Board Economics
Re: Distribution of bitcoin wealth by owner
by
teukon
on 21/04/2014, 16:45:48 UTC
My own idea of balancing social ideals and long term economic growth for everyone, is to favor consumption taxes, not taxes on capital.

Yes, this would probably do the US economy a lot of good (I'm not American).

Alas, despite the popular belief in the USA that the rich escape taxation, the burden of local, state and federal taxation progressively falls upon the wealthy. Almost half of US citizens pay no federal income tax, and the poor, disabled and elderly especially profit from government transfer payments.

Yes it does.  Not only do most of the rich work very productively to become so rich in the first place (making the country a better place), but they shoulder the lion's share of the tax burden, and have to endure great hatred by the masses.

Although capital gains and estate taxes will gain revenue from the sudden new bitcoin $billionaires and $trillionaires, that tax revenue will be realized only when they sell or die. I have a belief, growing stronger, that holders will regard bitcoin as precious to the extent that many large holders will be loath to sell. An analogy would be medieval land estates - never sold, only inherited.

That is why I believe taxes on bitcoin holdings will follow the precedent set by taxes on land property here in the USA.

Is it a problem if most of all Bitcoin wealth is never used, only inherited?  I don't see the problem.