Your local convenience store may not accept bills larger than $20, but once upon a time you could have paid for your gum with a nice fresh $10,000 bill. What's the story behind the large-denomination bills that the government used to issue?
Today, amid the pandemic, a third of U.S. adults say they are having difficulty covering everyday costs such as food, rent or car payments. While people with the lowest incomes face the biggest challenges, even some households making above $200,000 are straining to pay basic expenses.
For many families, walking the tightrope of financial stress, with little to no savings, is hardly a pandemic-specific condition. Over a year ago, more than a third of Americans said they could not cover an unexpected $400 home repair or hospital bill without going into debt — or at all.
Legislation sponsored by Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) and Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa (D-Manhattan) would impose a “mark to market” tax on any residents of New York “with net assets that are worth one billion dollars or more.”
What does that mean? Capital gains are already taxed as regular income, but only if they’re realized. If somebody buys $1 million worth of stock in May and it’s worth $1.5 million in December, they’ll only pay taxes on the gains they made if they sell it.
The bill in question would have the wealthiest state residents pay taxes as assets go up in value, whether or not they realize the gains. The above stock purchase, for example, would be counted as $500,000 in taxable income even if the purchaser held onto the investment.