Right in the article they say that these billionaires are consuming their unrealized gains. Wouldn’t a consumption tax on luxury items be more effective and efficient?
they are getting loans using their unrealized capital gains as collateral. And these loans are not interest free, and would have to be paid back at some point in the future. And in order to pay the interest on the loan, they will have to realize _some_ gains as income. So that gets taxed.
Is it better that these billionaires don't obtain their mansions and yachts, or that they do and don't get taxed?
And i'm sure the banks lending out the money will want to have a way to hold on to the collateral.
And the interest payment is profit to the banks/lender, and thus, they pay tax on profits (less expenses).
Not sure if it actually works well or is overly complex nowadays.
As a business it’s really not that much more complex. Add VAT to all the invoices you send out. Keep track of how much was charged to you by your suppliers. Pay the difference to the tax man.