Tag: tax policy
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Wealth taxes do work and the data is clear
Wealth taxes are dismissed as unworkable, but recent research and updated implementations show they raise revenue and don’t trigger the exodus critics predict.
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Harvard’s endowment should be taxed like a corporation
Harvard’s $50 billion endowment operates like a hedge fund with a school attached. The current 1.4% excise tax is a token. Here’s the case for treating it as what it is.
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Child support is treated as income for the recipient and that’s a problem
Child support is technically not income, but in practice it functions as one in benefits formulas, custody disputes, and tax reporting, with messy consequences.
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Capital gains rates are the reason inequality keeps widening
Wages get taxed at full rates while investment income gets a discount. The capital gains gap explains more about wealth concentration than most policy debates admit.
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The American tax system is a wealth-preservation engine
Wages get taxed at full rates while capital, inheritance, and asset appreciation get every break in the code. The system isn’t broken — it’s working as designed.
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HSAs are a tax shelter for the rich
Health Savings Accounts are sold as healthcare reform, but the tax advantages disproportionately benefit high earners who can afford to leave the money invested for decades.
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The standard deduction killed itemizing for the middle class
The 2017 tax law nearly doubled the standard deduction and gutted itemized deductions. The real winners weren’t middle-class families — they were the wealthy.
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SALT caps were good policy and blue states won’t admit it
The $10,000 SALT cap mostly hit high earners in high-tax states. Repealing it would be one of the most regressive tax moves of the decade.
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The mortgage interest deduction is upper-middle-class welfare
The mortgage interest deduction is sold as help for homeowners. In reality, it disproportionately benefits high earners and inflates housing prices.