In “Atlas Shrugged,” society’s brightest minds—the entrepreneurs, inventors, and visionaries—are pushed to the brink by policies that punish success. Kamala’s proposal to tax unrealized gains brings that dystopia to life, threatening Silicon Valley with crushing taxes on paper wealth that doesn’t yet exist.
@SebastianThrun, founder of Udacity, is a real-life Atlas Shrugged character in this scenario. When Udacity reached unicorn status, Thrun’s wealth looked massive on paper, but in reality, there was no cash to pay taxes on those hypothetical gains.
This policy could’ve forced him into impossible decisions: pay taxes on unrealized income or risk jail—for building something valuable for society.
Taxing theoretical wealth risks turning innovators into criminals, making ambition a liability. Are we headed toward an economy where those who create the most are punished the hardest?
Thoughts from an entrepreneur who’s start up valuation was extremely volatile, as most business are, and due to Kamala’s new tax plan taxing money he never had, would have ended up in prison. Purely as a price for his success:
“Taxing unrealized capital gains might place Silicon Valley entrepreneurs like myself in jail. Udacity stock went up and down (on paper!), but at its "unicorn" prime I would not have been able to pony together the cash necessary to pay those taxes. Jail time for people who build? Atlas, please shrug.”
@SebastianThrun, founder of Udacity, is a real-life Atlas Shrugged character in this scenario. When Udacity reached unicorn status, Thrun’s wealth looked massive on paper, but in reality, there was no cash to pay taxes on those hypothetical gains.
This policy could’ve forced him into impossible decisions: pay taxes on unrealized income or risk jail—for building something valuable for society.
Taxing theoretical wealth risks turning innovators into criminals, making ambition a liability. Are we headed toward an economy where those who create the most are punished the hardest?
Thoughts from an entrepreneur who’s start up valuation was extremely volatile, as most business are, and due to Kamala’s new tax plan taxing money he never had, would have ended up in prison. Purely as a price for his success:
“Taxing unrealized capital gains might place Silicon Valley entrepreneurs like myself in jail. Udacity stock went up and down (on paper!), but at its "unicorn" prime I would not have been able to pony together the cash necessary to pay those taxes. Jail time for people who build? Atlas, please shrug.”
