ProPublica's tax story
This is itself misleading.<p>There are many examples of government in the U.S. taxing unrealized gains. Prime one is property tax.<p>The author claims:<p>&gt; most countries use the very sane solution of staggering sales by only imposing a tax when an asset is sold<p>States and cities right here in the U.S. impose taxes on real estate long before it is sold, regularly assessing its value. Homeowners are indeed forced to sell or mortgage their homes sometimes to pay. In California this laid the groundwork for Prop 13. But property taxes are common globally <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;taxfoundation.org&#x2F;countries-target-property-tax-reforms-property-transaction-tax-net-wealth-transfer-tax&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;taxfoundation.org&#x2F;countries-target-property-tax-refo...</a><p>Politicians like Elizabeth Warren have proposed a wealth tax to treat stock and other assets more like real estate.<p>The author seems to strongly imply the US treatment of stock capital gains is some highly rational system designed by deep thinking experts. In reality it is the end point of a long, ad hoc political process, like all our laws.<p>While I do wish Pro Publica had examined the roots and benefits of our current system as the author suggests, his own post similarly lacks context in the pursuit (IMO) of a buzzy smack down.