Did I say mandatory? I meant optional! You’re “free” to die in a cardboard box under a freeway as a market capitalist scarecrow warning to the other ants so they keep showing up to make us more!
Did I say mandatory? I meant optional! You’re “free” to die in a cardboard box under a freeway as a market capitalist scarecrow warning to the other ants so they keep showing up to make us more!
How so?
“Oh no, I made money, better put a small percentage of my gains away for tax season, just like I do with all of my income, because I’m American and lack a good PAYE system”.
You’ve likely made a false assumption of stable value. Questions probably demonstrates best: Individuals are to pay taxes on value at what point in time? What if it was worth much more just previous to the time? What if it’s worth much less immediately after that time?
The time will probably be Dec. 31st. A small investor can get wiped out by poor holiday earnings. Or, far more likely, stocks will be artificially shorted by hedge funds in January to create the same situation. With options shenanigans and asymmetric rules, it’s trivially easy for the big fish to immediately eat everyone else.
Someone here has made a false assumption. In fact, I’m pretty sure we both have made several. The question is who has made a fatal false assumption? Let’s go.
My root comment, at the top of all of this, was my idea that perhaps we should consider gains “realized” when they are sold OR used as a collateral in a loan.
Your assertion is that it would wipe out small investors.
I would question how many small investors are using their small investments as collateral in a loan?
Anyone doing more than DCA retirement has collateralized their holdings for margin, prerequisite to options.
You said small investors not Wallstreetbet degenerates.
I said investors, not zero-effort DCA into a managed fund. My “degenerate” ways bought my freedom. I didn’t have to beat the big fish, just people like you who think they’re the smartest person in the room.
But sure, now we’re just insulting each other, I’m going to ignore that and try to answer your point.
TBH. US tax is weird as fuck, and I don’t know nearly enough about it to have more than a high level discussion on it. In my head, this would simply change when you’re paying taxes, as opposed to how much.
But… Nope. Tried to reason about it, can’t think of a nice clean way out. It’s friday afternoon. I’m out.
What is your alternative solution to the over all problem?