Re: FSF taking money from outsourcers

[Stefaan A Eeckels]

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 10:33:09 -0500
John Hasler <john@dhh.gt.org> wrote:

> Stefaan writes:
> > But the value of the shares would go up commensurately, and this would
> > also be taxed, requiring a payout so that the shareholders have the
> > funds to pay their taxes.
> 
> Not in the US.  There is no fair way to determine the current value of
> shares without selling them.

If they're quoted on the stock market, but otherwise it's
a simple exercise. My local tax office does it for me (not
a courtesy, they use it to compute the 0.5% fortune tax). Apart
from that, there's nothing stopping me from keeping income
in the company, invest it, and use it to pay myself a
pension later on (at which moment it would attract income tax).

> > Plus you could have a fortune tax, like we have here in Luxembourg.
> 
> So those who are unfortunate enough to own something which suddenly
> increases in value (farmland near a city, for example) but do not have
> large incomes are forced to sell.

It doesn't get re-valuated, so you'd only be taxed on it
if you'd sell it. Which is why tax on unused land has
been increased by a tenfold - to force people who hold
onto land in the building zone to sell. We try to keep
urban areas from billowing out and overrunning the
countryside. 

-- 
Stefaan
-- 
"What is stated clearly conceives easily."  -- Inspired sales droid