(DailyDig.com) – Elon Musk doesn’t typically get political unless he feels strongly about a particular topic. In this case, Democrats are threatening to tax him and other billionaires to help fund a highly partisan spending bill. Musk recently ascended to the top of the Forbes list of the most wealthy people in the world. Is it fair to target people based on their income?
The Wyden Proposal
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently proposed a new tax aimed explicitly at billionaires. Under the proposal, wealthy tycoons would pay a levy tax on unrealized capital gains, which are the increase of an investment’s value that hasn’t yet been sold.
Wyden’s idea is gaining steam in Congress as Democrats scramble to find a way to fund Biden’s massive infrastructure bill. Still, experts say the leader’s proposal needs more fine-tuning before moving forward.
Musk Mania
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, doesn’t like Wyden’s idea, either. He recently took to Twitter to express his dismay over the potential tax. The billionaire retweeted a letter from user Richard McCrackn which serves as a template for contacting elected representatives:
For USA citizens opposed to the unrealized capital gains tax proposal by Senator @RonWyden , here is an example of a tactful and diplomatic letter template I made. You can use this or make/post your own. It's important to write your elected reps.
cc: @JeffBezos @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/6BUDptr1Qq— Rick McCracken 💧 DIGI (@RichardMcCrackn) October 25, 2021
The letter drives home the most significant concern wealthy Americans have with Wyden’s proposal. The government taps obvious sources of income until they run out of money — in this case, billionaires. Eventually, they will move on to the next best opportunity to cash in.
Musk feels the federal government will tax billionaires out of existence, only to then move on to millionaires. The middle class is next on that list.
In a second tweet, the TESLA leader also grilled Democrats, asking who was better at capital allocation, entrepreneurs or the government:
Who is best at capital allocation – government or entrepreneurs – is indeed what it comes down to.
The tricksters will conflate capital allocation with consumption.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2021
The billionaire says the dishonest would fuse consumption with allocation. Those comments rubbed Senator Wyden the wrong way as he quickly fired back at Musk, indicating that the only dishonest people were the ones who don’t pay taxes.
Musk May Have a Point
While it’s challenging to deal with hypotheticals, there’s a chance Musk could be right. If the government taxes billionaires steeply enough, they’ll lose a significant portion of their wealth. In some cases, that could drop them down to millionaire status. What comes next?
The government isn’t just going to stop spending money, so they’ll propose doing the same to millionaires. The long arm of the IRS will eventually reach the average American household.
Owner of the Houston Rockets, a National Basketball Association (NBA) team, Tilman Fertitta, told Fox News that Wyden’s proposal could end American capitalism. Fertitta asserted that if the Democrats have their way with the tax proposal, it’ll make him and others like him not want to build anything, therefore not creating jobs. No jobs means no money; the economy will stagnate and crash. That will affect every single American.
Copyright 2021, DailyDig.com
