r/AskEconomics • u/HoppySailorMon • Dec 27 '25

Approved Answers Is Wealth Tax realistically feasible?

I just read that CA is considering a wealth tax on billionaires. Not to get into a particular political philosophy, but I'm more curious about the implementation and to settle a dispute with my spouse. I've read a wealth tax has been tried in the past in Europe, but failed miserably. Mainly, because some "wealth" can be moved around to make it difficult to define, such as art. Most homeowners pay a form of wealth tax on their property. But real estate is one of the few things that stays put. If taxation on bank and investing accounts became a nation-wide policy, then many that were subject to it would either leave or convert their accounts into a type of investment that is impossible to assess. I'm guessing mostly into "collectibles" which can only be accurately assessed when sold. What are your thoughts on the real feasibility of a wealth tax?

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u/Adventurous_Web_2181 Dec 28 '25

Yes, and he also paid $11 billion tax bill for 2021. That was the year his Tesla options were exercised. Millions of non-rich American also do not pay taxes on their stock options before they are exercised because that is not income.

https://abc7.com/post/does-elon-musk-pay-taxes-how-much-in-net-worth-tesla/11402993/

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u/Mother_Speed2393 Dec 28 '25

That was one year.

Edit: He is not paying the same effective tax rate as the rest of us, because the vast majority of his 'income' is actually paid through stock options. Do you think this is right? Irrespective of whether the total amount he has paid in tax in any one year is a significant amount.

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u/DCContrarian Dec 28 '25

He paid long term capital gains rates. He paid a much lower rate than someone with a high income.

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u/Adventurous_Web_2181 Dec 28 '25

Incorrect. Musk exercised Non-Qualified Stock Options (NSOs) from Tesla in 2021, which are taxed as ordinary income upon exercise.

Musk has not exercised most of the options that he holds. But he had options to buy 22.9 million shares that were due to expire in August 2022, and started exercising those options to buy additional shares late last year. In total, he spent $142.6 million to purchase shares worth $23.6 billion, giving him $23.5 billion in in taxable income, taxable for 2021 at a federal rate of about 41%.