Today on Prof G Markets, Ed Elson is joined by Gabriel Zucman to break down Prop 40, the billionaire tax proposal in California. They discuss why Gabriel thinks it’s the most effective way to tax the ultrawealthy in the state, unpack the various criticisms of the tax, and consider what its influence could be on the rest of the country.
Gabriel Zucman is a Professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics, Summer Research Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and founding Director of the International Tax Observatory. He is also the founding director of the PSE Stone center on Global Wealth Dynamics. Gabriel has authored three books, including his most recent work, We Need To Tax Billionaires.
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Timestamps:
00:00 Preview
00:32 Interview with
01:51 How bad are the inequality statistics?
05:28 What else has changed in the taxation system?
06:35 What's the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?
10:13 What could you say to someone who thinks pays a lot of taxes?
16:11 Is borrowing against your holdings a real problem?
21:58 Ad break
23:25 What do you think about the common concerns of the Billionaire Tax Act?
31:17 Do you think the Billionaire Tax Act is too aggressive?
35:42 Is Proposition 40 made to punish billionaires?
43:15 Would making the capital gains tax equal to the income tax be a solution?
44:19 At what point would the Billionaire Tax Act cross the line?
48:36 Could the government go too far with asset seizures at some point?
52:01 Ad break
52:23 Where do you think America is headed if the inequality problem isn't solved?
55:14 Do you think that there is a balance between those two polarities?
58:52 Wouldn't a wealth tax be a form of ownership of capital?
01:02:05 Wouldn't a wealth tax be a form of ownership of capital?
01:02:55 Do you think this inequality issue might get worse, even violent?
01:06:24 what would be a message to billionaires that you would want to convey?
01:08:18 Credits
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