This week the WY Legislature reconvenes. WY government must decide the proportion it will tax spending, income, or wealth. This year let’s be better informed when talk of wealth taxation comes up!
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that does research at both the state and federal levels. In October 2022 it published a report on pockets of “extreme wealth” to estimate wealth tax bases.
While NYC has the highest concentration of wealth, the Northeast has the highest concentration in a region. The 12 states with wealth pockets (above average shares) include WY. To quote the study: “… extreme wealth is held in the form of unrealized capital gains, meaning investment income” on which no tax has yet been paid.
The report spells out ways in which both the federal government and state governments could tax wealth “to help diversify their own revenue streams.”