Great piece, John. There are so many "rationalizations" for not taxing assets because they are not "income." But we know this is a rationalization because we have a very tangible example of non-income that is taxed all the time: "property." So the real question then is what's the distinction between an uncashed stock and an unsold home since neither is technically income. The answer is none. It's that simple. True the federal government doesn't tax property. That appears to be reserved to localities. But so what? The point is that the U.S. tax system permits the taxation of non-income assets all the time.
Great piece, John. There are so many "rationalizations" for not taxing assets because they are not "income." But we know this is a rationalization because we have a very tangible example of non-income that is taxed all the time: "property." So the real question then is what's the distinction between an uncashed stock and an unsold home since neither is technically income. The answer is none. It's that simple. True the federal government doesn't tax property. That appears to be reserved to localities. But so what? The point is that the U.S. tax system permits the taxation of non-income assets all the time.