• Uriel238 [all pronouns]@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    16 hours ago

    The news isn’t great that voters are polling against it. This class of ultra-wealthy, including Zuckerberg got their gains not through actually providing value to the economy, but through financialization, a subcategory of rent-seeking.

    In the end, we need to extract all the wealth from the plutocratic class, according to Paul Krugman. Billionaires are a catastrophic existential risk to all of humanity.

    And Zuckerberg already anticipates this considering he has an apocalypse shelter.

  • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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    24 hours ago

    This is a strong argument for voting on the wealth tax wording every year. If we leave it up to legislators, then they’ll “accidentally” leave in the loopholes.

  • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Interesting way to do it

    In response, Meta is creating a new class of non-voting shares via a two-for-one stock split for all existing shareholders. This will allow Zuckerberg to sell some of these new class C shares to pay a potential tax bill, without diluting his control of the company.

    What will these non voting shares be worth though once they go on the market? Will the voting share price go up and these plummet?

    I do like this though, because ive always held that i dont like the idea of someone’s voting rights being taken away from unrealized gains. This addresses the issue.

    Edit: some companies dont have dual classes shares like this and this isnt a option (e.g Tesla) so maybe the government should alter the laws so companies can do this for this purpose? Not sure what that might do though if they weren’t set up for it.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    That’s just good PR right there. He’ll certainly be more popular now. They’re shooting for just under trump’s popularity.

  • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    So meta employees got his back? The money comes from somewhere. If you weren’t borderline suicidal working for Meta this should do the trick!

    • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      There is no new money.

      Its a shares split with half being voting shares and half being not voting shares.

      Zuckerberg will sell the non voting shares.

      • ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zip
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        20 hours ago

        Non voting shares shouldn’t exist. Buying a piece of a company and not being able to voice a say is an insane system

        • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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          19 hours ago

          If you want to vote just buy the voting ones. If you dont want to vote, get the non voting ones for a discount. No ones being forced to buy these, they’re being equally given to everyone, and everyone will have the same voting rights once its done.

          Most retail investors dont even vote.

  • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Two takeaways here:

    1. I thought billionaires would leave the state if we taxed them?? Are you telling me there is a compelling reason that either they or their companies might want to stay located in CA? Who would have guessed?

    2. I’m OK with this. It is basically a corporate tax now instead of a personal tax. As long as CA gets the billions of dollars it needs from someone, I don’t care where it comes from. We should be taxing corporations more and should be taxing billionaires more, but it is a start. Also, this fucks the shareholders who might maybe possibly think of restricting pay packages for him.

    • Burninator05@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      If Meta pays Zuck’s wealth tax I hope they classify it as income and tax it more. If you or me are given a bonus from our jobs, it is taxed as income. I don’t really see how this is different.

  • LadyMeow@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 day ago

    Perfect as in protect his control of the company, he would still have to cough up some money, he just has shiny new non voting shares he can sell.

    Certainly masturbatiry, but making the ultra wealthy dildos pay still.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Under the deal, Zuckerberg will receive new shares that could be sold to potentially foot a multibillion-dollar tax bill in the event that California passes a one-off billionaire tax. In return, he is committed to remain a resident of the state, or wherever Meta maintains its base, for eight years

    Cool…

    So we can do another “one time” wealth tax again the next 7 years and lil zuck the duck is locked in?

    Billionaires wealth and their companies assets have been interchangeable for a long time, just keep fucking take it back from either of them, it accomplishes the same thing.

    We just can’t stop with the one off.

    • ramble81@lemmy.zip
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      1 day ago

      “Or whether Meta maintains its base”

      Does anyone else feel like that’s the weasel clause in things?

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      Honestly, there should just be a clause that specifies any financial arrangements intended to effectively nullify the personal wealth tax will be further taxed at 150% of the value of said financial arrangements. I am willing to bet a whole hell of a lot forensic accountants would have a blast with that :)

      • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Thats not what happened. People should read the article.

        Its a 2 for 1 stock split into voting and non voting shares. He’ll sell the non voting shares. Theyre still getting the money from him and no new money is made.

        He’ll have shares for future taxes as well.

        • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          Be that as it may, I’d leave that to regulatory experts to determine. And I do think the punitive scaling that I spitballed would be great, because billionaires shouldn’t exist, and finding creative ways to irretrievably whittle away their grotesque wealth should genuinely be an uncontroversial (outside of the billionaire class) point.

      • MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com
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        1 day ago

        I think tax avoidance schemes like that should result in basically exile. You don’t want to pay your fair share to participate in society? Ok, enjoy no society. Not even jail. Just drop them in international waters. Sorry, food requires roads to be able to transport and those use taxes, so since you don’t want to pay your share of taxes you don’t get the privilege of anything they supply. Just the one free transport and confiscation of everything else since you don’t exist as a person in society.

        That’s probably a little harsh, but I am just over theses people. What ever happened with the Panama papers? Oh, that’s right, nothing. They are ruining society for everyone else and there is just no recourse.

        • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          I mean… making a person stateless is actually considered a crime against humanity by the UN.

          I think exponentially-compounding fines for hyper-wealthy individuals would be perfectly fine, tbh. Also, we’d definitely need to be a LOT more aggressive in terms of slapping those types down as vexatious litigants - look up the implications of that (in US courts, at least) if you’re not familiar with the term.

          • MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com
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            1 day ago

            I was admittedly being hyperbolic. Here’s me saying the same thing not too long ago: https://reddthat.com/comment/29539867

            It would also be a crime because you’re essentially killing them. Being dropped randomly into international waters with no preparation would probably be a bigger concern for them than if their passport is still valid. There are definitely a lot of solutions we haven’t tried between our current nothing and state sanctioned murder, I just wish we’d actually implement one.

            • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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              1 day ago

              All that said, it’d be kinda sweet if we could just give these broligarch fuckwits the Napoleon Bonaparte treatment (marooned on St Helena - but these days, probably with a watchdog naval detachment of some sort to detain and similarly incarcerate any broligarch buddies who try to un-exile them with their mega-yachts).

              Or, hell, we could even grant Phony Stark his wish: send the fuckers to Mars. Move fast and break things, right guys? That’s what they all say they want, yeah? 😜

    • FlexibleToast@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Sounds more like Meta is just paying him to pay the tax. They turned it from a wealth tax to a corporate tax.

    • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      We just can’t stop with the one off.

      Maybe a one off every year. 😋

      I bet it’s an attempt to make the billionaires not flee California. But really, if they don’t pay fair taxes good riddance.
      They should consider themselves lucky every day they are allowed to keep their head.