The OECD report observes that the decline of wealth taxes has been driven both by “administrative concerns and by the observation that net wealth taxes have frequently failed to meet their redistributive goals.”
More broadly, the overall trend in tax policy over the past several decades has been for countries to compete with each other to become investor-friendly with lower top marginal income tax rates, lower corporate income tax rates, and the elimination of wealth taxes. The general idea has been that while such policies might increase inequality they will also, by attracting investment, ultimately boost economic growth and make everyone better off.
In practice, while inequality has risen economic growth rates in the developed world have slowed. That doesn’t prove that the tax policy changes were a mistake — perhaps growth would have slowed even more without them. But in the wake of the Great Recession, the observation that the promised growth boom did not occur has spurred growing intellectual interest in a change of approach. Warren’s proposal — like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Saez-inspired call for a 70 percent top marginal income tax rate — is a sign that the intellectual backlash is now reaching into the realm of practical politics.
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Intellectual backlash?
Nice.
Best to make sure it doesn't kill off incentive.
Why work like a dog 18 hours a day if you're not gonna end up rich?