The Extraordinarily High Cost of Taxes On Our Wealth

The Supreme Court recently announced it will take up a landmark case next term regarding whether Americans can be taxed on their unrealized income. This will have sweeping implications for tax policy at all levels of government. At issue in a petition filed by two Washington state residents, Charles and Kathleen Moore, is whether the government can impose taxes on the increased value of all of your assets each year–even those that haven’t been sold. This concept ranks high atop the list of wealth taxes sought by some Democrats in Congress and state legislatures—but in addition to being constitutionally questionable, it is deeply flawed and unworkable.