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Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently announced the launch of an exploratory committee to consider a 2020 White House bid, vowing to be a tenacious advocate for economic fairness and rebuilding the middle class.

Sen. Warren subsequently proposed an “Ultra-Millionaire Tax” through which her campaign committee promises to raise some $3 Trillion in new federal tax revenues over the next 10 years.

Her proposal is not a tax on income; it is a tax on assets.

She identified some 75,000 U.S. families which hold assets in excess of $50 Million.

Her proposal is interesting, and it seems relatively simple.  All families with assets between $50 Million and $1 Billion would owe a 2% annual tax on assets valued in excess of $50 Million; and, the rate would rise to 3% on those assets that exceed $1 Billion.  What could go wrong?

Most appealing in the Warren proposal?

Senator Warren claims that this approach would affect just the wealthiest 0.1% of Americans, and that the incremental revenue generated through this novel approach could help rebuild the American middle class by providing for universal child care; student debt relief; and other critical societal needs.

What could go wrong?  Let us try to explore some possibilities.

The Warren plan anticipates that if your family holds $750 Million in gross assets, you would be facing a potential annual tax of $14 Million on those assets.

What the plan doesn’t mention is that for a fraction of that amount, you could employ lawyers and other experts to help value your assets quite differently.

One recent case study was illuminated by some extensive research conducted by the New York Times on the estate of Fred Trump.  https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-10-03/trump-taxes-fred-s-scheme-was-quite-impressive

Stay tuned.  There is more to come from The Walrus on “Common Sense Tax Reform”!