Governments say they can't tax the super wealthy more because they'll just leave the country but has any first world country tried it in the last 50 years?

[u/Discontitulated]

It would be interesting to see how raising taxes on the super wealthy actually affected a first world country's tax revenue and economy.

Are our first world economies really so fragile the rely on the super wealthy and their meager tax revenue?

[u/Aethyssus0913]

The 16th amendment doesn’t define income. There are ways that unrealized gains can be counted as income, such as any time they are used as collateral.

Also, the 16th amendment doesn’t prevent the federal government from doing anything. Rather, it gives the permission to do something, specifically levy taxes on all forms of income. The 10th amendment is what prohibits the government from other forms of taxation.

[u/hows_the_h2o → u/Aethyssus0913]

I would agree that finding some sort of exception to prevent stock holdings being used as collateral would be on better legal footing than just a flat out tax on stock holdings.