New Enterprise Party

Everyone receives benefits/services from government and therefore everyone should pay a small percentage for such benefits. The Government is big enough today. Federal, state and local taxation should be coordinated (insures fair implementation and reduces cost of enforcement). Everyone can afford a small percentage of their wealth each year, especially if all other taxes are gone. Everyone should have a stake in government. If we tax income, sales or receipts, we place the burden on those trying to build wealth - poor and middle class or more wealth. By taxing wealth we increase opportunity at a low tax rate of overall wealth shared by all. In addition, the government must be responsible in its use of the tax dollars it receives. We must solve our tax and budget issues; otherwise we are burdening future generations. Will some individuals pay more or get fewer benefits; yes they will. We have to fix the problems. However, this plan attempts to tax out of excess. It tries to preserve for everyone the opportunity to succeed and build wealth. It is not intended to punish the wealthy or re-allocate wealth. It is simply a method of raising government funds that preserves for all the opportunity to build wealth.

Freeze government budgets (except inflation adjustments) and impose balanced budget requirement
Abolish all federal taxes except the "Total Wealth Tax" (i.e., no income, estate, excise, gas, employment or other taxes), a small sales tax to fund health care and an outsourcing tax to assist the United States labor force.
Rates established and cannot be changed without 60% vote of both houses of Congress in a measure proposed and approved in two consecutive Congresses (not just sessions- before and after an election).
The purpose of taxing is to raise revenue; not encourage or discourage any particular behavior

Federal government has $7.5 Trillion debt
Federal government annual budget = $3.1 trillion (current budget over $10,000 for each man, woman and child)
Want to raise $3.5 Trillion per year (excess to pay debt)
Eventually local budgets ($1.5 Trillion) may raise revenue with additional 1% (or other sources) and state budgets ($2.0 Trillion ) could be collected by federal government and given to states (must rebate/repeal their other taxes)

Value of Individual assets in U.S. = at least $65 Trillion+ (Federal reserve flow of funds report)
Value of Institutional assets in U.S. = at least$100 Trillion+

Tax based upon the gross fair market value of assets owned (simple and easy to enforce)
Rates of tax - Individuals

Residential real estate - 2% (Primary residence only - others at 2.5%)
Retirement assets - 2% (recapture additional tax if take out early)
Agricultural property - 1% FMV or 2% agricultural value
Other assets - 2.5%
$100,000 exclusion for cars, jewelry and tangible personal property
U.S. Residents who are not citizens - U.S. Wealth and 1% worldwide wealth - no Foreign Tax credit
Special 1% rate for retired taxpayers over age 65 on first $1,000,000 wealth

Public Corporations - 2.5%
Charities, hospitals - 2% (church 1%) provided charitable use
Retirement Trusts (including gov't retirement)- 1%
Closely held corporations, Partnerships, LLC's, Trusts - 2%
Only exempt entities = grantor trusts, single member LLCs and governments ( Re: quasi-Gov't agencies like RTA)
Higher rates on overseas assets (enforcement).

"Total Wealth" means fair market value of assets not reduced by tax or accounting depreciation or debt. Inventory valued at cost. Life insurance at cash surrender value. No minority discount for closely held entities. Includes value of goodwill.
Issues - How often re-value real estate (or base on cost)?

Business equipment - higher of cost or value
Work on ways to simplify enforcement - penalties
Intellectual Property - FMV
Allocation among states
For coins, jewelry, antiques etc. we have insured values and we could explore an informational reporting by proprietors
Note: This is not a new concept - many franchise taxes have a fair value component as does the estate tax and property tax.

The poor - their tax burden will be more than offset by the removal of payroll, gas and other excise taxes.
Retirement accounts - the tax is more than offset by earnings and also the removal of income tax and estate tax
Non progressive -everyone pays the same small percentage of wealth.
Charities - pay fair share for good of all; people should have more funds to help out; small percentage for example if Hospital has $10 million value, its tax is $250,000; spread among patients it is small amount, employment tax gone.
Very wealthy, but cash poor, - small percentage and those are choices.
There will be a crossover where in certain circumstances people will pay more; this will occur when low income and high asset (however still small percentage of wealth)
Pay tax on gross wealth value rather than net value - benefit of the asset and cost of government services to protect it. That is the same whether debt financed or not.
For those concerned that this discourages savings, it is a small percentage and there is more available for savings. It may be advisable to penalize spenders by adding a small income tax of say 2% flat when there is $0 wealth, but income over $50,000.
We have had many value based taxes - real estate, personal property

No more capital gains games
Sales tax and hidden taxes that hurt the poor are gone
Ease of administration; simple; certain
Government is funded
Poverty rates are apparently rising in America. The removal of the income/sales tax burden will ease that problem.

Ease of administration - valuation is key - that's easy enough to establish guidelines (e.g., penalty if report value at x and sell within 2 years for 2x - penalty equals 10% of difference)
Please read A Fairytale of Tax Reform to get a better understanding of the Total Wealth Tax.