US President Joe Biden needs money. Naturally, he’s after the deepest, if tightest pockets: those of the super-rich.Biden’s 5.8 tons minimum government budget 20% The annual tax rate on all income of billionaires, including unrealized gains on asset appreciation.

It’s a bold and unusual move. Generally, U.S. taxes are levied on cash income: wages and profits are based on shares or other sales. But times have changed.

The decade or so to 2021 is a golden age for wealth creation and tax avoidance. The S&P 500 ended 2021 up sevenfold from its March 2009 low.The explosion of wealth in the stock market has resulted in an effective tax rate of only 8.2% America’s richest family, according to White House economists.

Central bankers helped stir the pot. Monetary stimulus inflates the bubble. Founders, tech entrepreneurs and other millionaires don’t have to pay huge capital gains taxes because they can use their stock as collateral — borrowing at near-zero interest rates — instead of selling it.

Biden’s budget, which would help fund increased defense spending, was not specified. It faces legislative and constitutional challenges. But its attempt to combine the super-rich with the fiscal realities of a world ravaged by massive sovereign debt is bound to resonate.

Biden is targeting households with a net worth of more than $100 million. But billionaires will be responsible for most of the $360 billion raised over the next decade.Economist Gabe Zuckerman estimates that the top 10 billionaires including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates will collectively need to come forward $215 billion.

Critics of wealth taxes worry that they stifle entrepreneurship and risk-taking.They are difficult to implement effectively, as their tortuous history shows in Europe.

These are bad reasons to block. Academic research supports the grassroots belief that the super-rich are good at reducing the taxes they pay to the societies in which they make money. A wealth tax in the United States would represent a valuable work toward a fairer division.

The Lex team is interested in hearing more from readers. Let us know what you think of Biden’s proposed wealth tax in the comments section below.