“It makes no sense–constitutional or otherwise–to tax Americans on income they haven’t received yet.”
Washington, D.C. – June 26, 2023 – Saving America’s Family Enterprises, Inc. (SAFE), a nonprofit nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating Americans on the consequences of bad tax policy, welcomes the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today to take up a case regarding whether Americans can be taxed on unrealized income.
“It makes no sense–constitutional or otherwise–to tax Americans on income they haven’t received yet,” said former Senator John Breaux (D-LA), senior adviser and spokesman for the organization. “I support a progressive tax code and a fair tax system, but taxing unrealized gains isn’t the answer. It is bad policy that will do more harm than good. Instead, policymakers should be focused on closing the tax gap and making sure the wealthy pay what they owe.”
Senator Breaux has outlined the sweeping consequences of taxing unrealized gains, which has also been proposed in a number of states. He was a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and played a leading role on tax policy throughout his over 30 years of service in Congress. He also co-chaired President Bush’s 2005 Tax Reform Commission, was a founder of the Centrist Coalition of Senate Democrats and Republicans, and was the chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.
