This is the Libertarian podcast from the Hoover Institution.

I'm your host Tom Church and I'm joined by the Libertarian Professor Richard Epstein.

Richard is the Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow here at the Hoover Institution. He's the Lawrence A Tish Professor of Law at

NYU and is a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago. Richard, this week I would like to talk to you

about your column because when I read

well states are considering this I think well well let's get into this.

You know we're not gonna get a national wealth tax, Richard.

The Republicans hold the House right now and that just won't pass anywhere there.

But you mentioned there's what, seven states toying around the idea right now?

That's right. Well, first on the first point now the

Republicans hold the house now Lord knows what will happen in 2024 but I think if

you were to ask the question as to whether you could find uniform domestic democratic support for a wealth tax of one form or another. I think the support for is actually grown not diminished in the last several years. At the state level, it's clear that it's all taking different forms and shapes in different places.

Some more aggressive than others.

Each of these states is going to evolve in some fashion,

but essentially the focus of all of the states is going to evolve in some fashion, but essentially the focus of all of these inquiries is at three folds.

Whatever the rates are on the top, we have to make the scale more progressive.

That's probably the most modest of the forms. And then the second reform is what we have to do is the tax income before it is realized that is before the appreciation in a share of stock or piece of land is converted into cash or some other

marketable security by sale and the third thing says is oh we don't care

whether you're earning or not earning we just want to take a piece of the total wealth

pilot you have and there's a question as to whether that is off a base which is

marketable securities easy to value but incomplete or whether it's on an entire wealth base,

which is much harder to value, but much more complete.

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