A Wealth Tax

 I've see a number of progresses recently trying to resurrect the idea of a wealth tax.

The number of current OECD members that have collected revenue from net wealth taxes grew from eight in 1965 to a peak of 12 in 1996 to just five in 2020. In France the tax has been cut back to only real estate and in Spain if you live in Madrid you're exempt (I think I see a way of getting around it in Spain). 

Switzerland does the best with this sort of tax and it accounts for 5.12% of revenues. Among the five countries which have some sort of wealth tax revenues from the tax amount to only 1.5% of revenues.

The US generated $4.4 trillion in revenue in 2023. So if we did as well as Switzerland, and we probably won't, that would net about $225 billion. That's a nice chunk of change but only about 13% of the current budget deficit.

Then comes the question of Constitutionality. An honest appraisal of whether the Constitution would allow a wealth tax would probably revolve around whether it is a "direct" tax.

Article 1 Section 9 Clause 4 provides: “No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.”

However, Article I Section 8 Clause 1 provides Congress’s general taxing power: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence [sic] and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”

The "uniform" requirement in Section 8 seems to conflict with the apportionment requirement in Section 9. 

But there is a difference between theory and practicality.

I see no way to get a wealth tax past this SCOTUS. We'd be much better off reforming the income tax tables and closing loopholes to shift the tax burden from the working class to the wealthy. We know with absolute certainly that would be Constitutional. Or at least I think we know that. With this SCOTUS you never know for sure.