Tapping into the populist belief once again - that the Rich don't pay their fair share, sounding more like Hillary, than Reagan.
And There are major problems with Trump's plan:
First, it is doubtful that the super-wealthy actually control as much as $40 trillion of assets ($40 trillion x 14.25 percent tax = $5.7 trillion). The latest Forbes magazine report on the richest 400 Americans places their entire wealth at approximately $1 trillion.
For example, according to Forbes, Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer, all heavily invested in Microsoft, have a combined net worth of $148 billion. Assuming all their holdings were in Microsoft, they would be forced - in a short span of time - to unload stock worth $21 billion under Trump's plan.
the biggest obstacle to this and every other radical tax plan - whether it is the flat tax or national sales tax - is the general mistrust of government.
Remember the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which reduced income tax rates and eliminated the capital gains deduction? Congress failed to honor that tax reform legislation and has changed the law almost every year since its enactment.
Who knows whether Trump's one-time wealth tax would never be repeated? Who has confidence that a future Congress would not reactivate the estate tax?
In conclusion, paying off the national debt by soaking the super-rich sounds appealing, but - like other radical tax proposals - it should be considered another political ploy aimed at voters' emotions rather than a solid tax proposal grounded in economic reality.
