© (ASSOCIATED PRESS)A file photo shows the exterior of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
We must encourage wealthy to invest
Re "Is a wealth tax needed to rebalance the economy after COVID-19?" (March 14): I was surprised that only half of your eight experts said no, and only Jamie Moraga emphasized the most important reason to be against a wealth tax - taxing wealth discourages investment.
Wealth isn't money hoarded and stuffed in a mattress. Wealth is investments in new ventures, innovations, growing companies, real estate development and much more. An important byproduct of investment is the creation of jobs. Investments result in the hiring of employees and the purchase of goods and services, which supports the hiring of yet more people. In the history of the world, there has never been a better way to improve the wealth of the ordinary person than to provide free-market opportunities to save, invest, work and be productive.
Incentivizing investment fosters a productive and prosperous society. A wealth tax would hurt everyone.
Wayne Harris
Carmel Valley
Smart legislation can accomplish both goals
The letter points argues that a wealth tax penalizes the essential function of incentivizing investment.
On St. Patrick's Day, a wealthy Zonie expatriate from California impressed upon me his need to avoid subjecting his wealth to confiscation in California. I get it.
But, a proper wealth tax exempts proper investment albeit it a slippery slope from proper to confiscatory.
Robert Burns
Ocean Beach
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.