Romain Hatchuel: The Coming Global Wealth Tax

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Romain Hatchuel: The Coming Global Wealth Tax

Indebted governments may soon consider a big one-time levy on capital assets.


Between ObamaCare, Iran and last quarter's uptick in U.S. economic growth, taxpayers these days may be distracted from several dangers to come. But households from the United States to Europe and Japan may soon face fiscal shocks worse than any market crash. The White House and New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio aren't the only ones calling for higher taxes (especially on the wealthy), as voices from the International Monetary Fund to billionaire investor Bill Gross increasingly make the case too.

In his November investment commentary for bond giant Pimco, Mr. Gross asks the "Scrooge McDucks of the world" to accept higher personal income taxes and to stop expecting capital to be taxed at lower rates than labor. As for the IMF, its latest Fiscal Monitor report argues that taxing the wealthy offers "significant revenue potential at relatively low efficiency costs." The context for this argument is the IMF's expectation that in advanced economies the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product will reach a historic peak of 110% next year, 35 percentage points above its 2007 level.

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online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304355104579232480552517224

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Proposed Wealth Tax Is Government's Last Gasp

Romain Hatchuel, managing partner of a New York-based asset management firm, wrote an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal today. His topic was on the looming "wealth tax".

Because world governments have no backbone to stop spending more than they take in, national debts are skyrocketing. Instead of doing the obvious and limiting their expenses, the governments are seeking an easy way to raise revenues. The clarion call to increase taxes on the wealthy is being led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Hatchuel notes, "Households from the United States to Europe to Japan may soon face fiscal shocks worse than any market crash."

In a recent report, the IMF reasoned that increased taxes on the wealthy would provide "significant revenue potential at relatively low efficiency costs." As for America, the IMF projected the revenue-maximizing rate is 56-71%" which is considerably higher than the present 45% top rate the three tiers of taxation (county, state and federal) impose.

The reason this idea is important, is because of the way Hatchuel connects dots previously missed. "The IMF's idea is for a one-off tax on private wealth. That makes weapons of mass wealth (MWD) reduction likelier by the day." Hatchuel compares the MWD to past and future events. He claims MWDs could come in the form of the IMF's proposed capital levy, a global Cyprus bank deposit confiscation or just plain sovereign default.

The Rant connected the Cypriot situation to a test mode example floating around the U.S. government and the recent rule changes that effectively remove any barriers from a bank holiday in which all wealth held by banks could be given a haircut by the government but missed the proposed capital levy. Either way, however, the current Administration and its new stated powers from the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to the language of Dodd-Frank put all American wealth at risk.

In fact the Obama Administration began pushing anew on "wealth inequality" just this week. Current inequality in America is more likely caused by the government's unrelenting support of the stock markets which rewards those with the capital resources to risk rather than any other inertia force of the market. The decline in full-time jobs in favor of part-time jobs will effectively reduce the "wealth inequality" due to earned income.

This is where the jobs reports and its numerous analysts have missed the boat. To market analyzers, a job is a job is a job. But, just as in the housing market, the jobs that went away are not being replaced by jobs of equal value. If part-time work does indeed replace full-time jobs as the norm, as has happened in Europe, Americans will all be sharing the misery equally.

Publicly, Obama "wants to restore the American Dream." But his every deed belies his words. He wants everyone to share the misery of a bloated, statist government. One sure way to obtain that goal is to remove wealth, and its attendant liberty inspirations, from the populace. Then they will be more reliant on government handouts than ever before.

He, along with most Progressives, sees nothing wrong with 90% tax rates if necessary to "level the playing field." Then it is up to government to pick the winners and losers with their handouts.

The wealth tax is being tested in the Eurozone but the early returns there are as murky as winding one's way through the Affordable Health Care Act's website. The only certainty is the tax will crush initiative.

The wealth tax proposal might work one time in reducing the debt of government. But government will not stop spending. Then the tax will have to be imposed again. That could prove to be the final breaking point for any reason for the civil partnership between a citizen and his government.

By Michael Mccune:

[OnThe3dge]

They're criminals of the most extreme sort. Or complete blithering idiots. Or both.

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They're criminals of the most extreme sort. Or complete blithering idiots. Or both.

Its the new normal.