The stepped up basis is intended to minimize double taxation. The estate tax went away in 2010 and so did the stepped up basis. I remember people being upset that George Steinbrenner didn't pay estate taxes but he also didn't get a stepped up basis.
I don't know any VAT countries that don't also have corporate income tax.
Eliminating the cap on SS tax would change the program from a form of forced retirement savings to a redistribution program. I think we'll have to do some of that but I don't like it. Regardless it hardly impact billionaires (unless you define a billionaire as somebody who earns more than ~ $200k).
Many states already have parental leave programs.
I'm past retirement age so I have a different perspective. My first year of school was 1st grade. No kindergarten and no pre-K. You might be surprised to learn that I was proficient in math, science, readings, etc when I graduated. IMO the only reason for more public preschools is to provide taxpayer assisted daycare which might be helpful for 2 income families. FWIW the USA already spends more than all other countries except Luxembourg & Norway.
We disagree on subsidies for green energy. We've done a lot of that already. I'm an all of the above kind of person who thinks each technology should stand on it's own 2 feet.
The USA (Fed, State, Local) already spends ~ $1 trillion on infrastructure each year.
How do you propose to reduce the deficit except by raising taxes?
Somehow you seem to think that we could have all those things and balance the budget at the same time by taxing the rich? Trust me that's not nearly enough money.
doing away with step up Hurst everybody, not just billionaires.
when I was on school board the pre k was a big thing. We did studies on benefits or pre k vs non pre k...granted anecdotal study. I'm positive there has to be more. what we found was that kid in pre k did better in early grades than those not in pre k (makes sense). But by grade 3 (or it might have been 5, I can't remember) any benefit was gone.
Now if we're looking at Pre k as a "baby sitting" effort to free more mothers into the work force, since we need workers, that might be worth looking into.
Until we get control of the fraud and financial mismanagement in our federal spending, I'm against any tax increases for anybody.
I've lived in a VAT country..there's a reason those people come to the US and do a lot of shopping and buying when here...our prices are significantly lower. VAT is a hidden tax on anybody who buys, Since we are a economy driven by consumption, VAT might not be a good idea.
higher taxes on capital gains really sounds good but could have detrimental impacts on retirement accounts which are dependent on the capital markets for returns. Lower return means less money in retirement. I's a tradeoff.
wouldn't eliminating the mortgage deduction hurt the low middle earners? People with money can put down large down payments or simply pay cash.
Florida is trying to do away with the property tax we'll see how that goes in november vote.
public option..I don't care as long as it does not require money from the federal budget as was promised during ACA debates. But somehow those commitments lose there fervor over time. NOTE government shutdown over allowing lapse of expanded subsidies in 2025
