Forget paying your ‘fair share’ of taxes. Here are 5 ways politicians want even more, tell me about this news in (https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/forget-paying-fair-share-taxes-5-ways-politicians-want-even-more)

The Fox News opinion piece titled “Forget paying your ‘fair share’ of taxes. Here are 5 ways politicians want even more,” written by financial advisor Ted Jenkin, critiques the frequent political rhetoric demanding that wealthy Americans pay their “fair share.”The author argues that high earners already contribute a disproportionate share of federal revenuenoting that the top 1% of taxpayers pay approximately 40% of federal individual income taxes, while the top 10% pay the vast majority. He points out that politicians rarely specify what exact percentage or dollar figure would actually qualify as “fair.”According to the article, here are the five main ways politicians and lawmakers could seek to extract more tax revenue:

1. Raising the Top Income Tax RateThe most direct route is simply increasing the top federal marginal income tax bracket, which, combined with state taxes in high-tax jurisdictions like New York or California, pushes effective tax rates substantially higher.
2. Increasing Capital Gains TaxesA frequent target is raising long-term capital gains taxes to align them more closely with ordinary income rates. The author warns that heavily taxing investment returns discourages risk-taking, entrepreneurship, and capital allocation across businesses, stocks, and real estate.
3. Taxing Wealth While Alive (Wealth Tax)Rather than taxing income when realized, proposals have emerged to tax accumulated net worth. The piece argues this creates severe liquidity issues, as a person’s valuation may be tied up in business equity, real estate, or illiquid assets rather than readily available cash.
4. Taking More at Death (Estate Taxes)Beyond the existing federal estate taxwhich reaches up to 40%there are ongoing proposals to lower current high exemption thresholds back toward historical lows. The author contends this subjects the same earned and previously taxed dollars to an additional heavy levy before passing to heirs.
5. Adding Specialized SurtaxesInstead of raising headline tax rates, lawmakers often introduce separate surtaxes on top of standard rates. Examples cited include the federal Net Investment Income Tax (3.8%), the additional Medicare tax (0.9%), and state-level “millionaire” surtaxes, which compound into a significant total tax burden.

In conclusion, the author argues that “fair share” remains an political slogan rather than a grounded policy principle, and calls on lawmakers to define specific benchmarks rather than constantly seeking new avenues to raise taxes.