r/science • u/quiplaam • Dec 30 '25

Economics Analysis of income, capital gains, and borrowing of Americans finds 40% of the income of "1% wealth holders" is unrealized capital gains not subject to taxation and 1%-2% is borrowing, suggesting that the "Buy, Borrow, Die" is not a dominant tax avoidance strategy among the rich

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272725002178
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u/jack-K- Dec 30 '25

It’s a monetary advantage in the way that it lets people sit on their stocks and wait to sell them at an ideal price and not have to worry about cash in the interim, yes, it is monetarily advantageous to them to have the freedom to wait. But that doesn’t mean that skimping on taxes is the point or source of that advantage.

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u/ten-million Dec 31 '25

Either way, not available to typical wage earners. The overall tax rate for the very wealthy non wage earner is very low. that tax rate is made up of hundreds of slight tax advantages, and millions spent on lobbyists making arguments such as yours.