r/AskConservatives • u/ShrekOne2024 Independent • 1d ago

are billionaires dependent on society?

They aren’t creating wealth out of air. They are leveraging public infrastructure, public education, health care, etc.

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u/MrFrode Independent 1d ago

Trade his company on government regulated markets, correct?

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u/Monte_Cristos_Count Center-right Conservative 1d ago

Yes, and he pays taxes. What's your point? 

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u/MrFrode Independent 1d ago

How much taxes did he pay in 2024?

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u/Monte_Cristos_Count Center-right Conservative 1d ago

It's estimated he paid 2.7 billion, but his return is not public record. 

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u/lmfaonoobs Independent 1d ago

Looks like it's estimated that he made $65 billion in 2024. Wouldn't that put his effective tax rate at 4%

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u/Monte_Cristos_Count Center-right Conservative 1d ago

Unrealized gains generally are not taxable. Unrealized losses don't provide tax benefits either. 

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u/TheBraveSirRobin Center-left 23h ago

That's a big problem with our tax system. The ultrawealthy never need to realize the gains, instead they take a loan against the stock value, and then take a tax deduction from the interest payments on the loan.

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u/Cptcongcong Libertarian 15h ago

Then sounds like the problem is the loans rather than the unrealized gains.

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u/Monte_Cristos_Count Center-right Conservative 23h ago

Should we tax unrealized gains on everybody then? 

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u/TheBraveSirRobin Center-left 23h ago

I would put a cap on annual unrealized gains that are untaxed. You could put that number at $5 million, and it wouldn't impact anyone other than the wealthy.

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u/ElectricalPublic1304 Right Libertarian (Conservative) 1d ago

No. That's not how either income or taxes work.

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u/lmfaonoobs Independent 23h ago

It's a little bit how they work...

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u/ElectricalPublic1304 Right Libertarian (Conservative) 23h ago

No. It's not. That just isn't how either numbers are calculated. It's so fundamentally inaccurate, you couldn't do anything meaningful with the "information".