posted by gutIf they want to be really evil, they'll also institute to that trading tax....that way, they hit you again when you have to liquidate some shares to pay the capital gains tax.
Otherwise, it is mostly a nuisance. The $1k example was a horrible example - a stock that doubles and then goes back down is not a "taxable 100% unrealized gain", it's 0. And if you got taxed one year and it went down the next, then you'd have a capital loss to offset other gains.
But it definitely DOES cost you money if you pay unrealized gains every year. That can grow to a significant hidden tax because you no longer benefit from the bulk of investment gains on those deferred capital gains taxes.
The point was, if the stock doubles or goes up 5-fold, you would owe the tax at the end of the year, even though you didn't sell the stock. And, if a year later it went back down to where you bought it originally, you're double screwed (the tax is already paid, and your investment tanked). And, if it actually declined beneath cost price you can still only deduct up to $3k in capital losses per year, or offset that amount against gains, which is absolutely absurd.
On top of all of it, it is money that was already taxed to begin with.
To hell with BIG government.