Quote:
Originally Posted by MonctonRad
I didn’t collect stamps as a wealth generator. I collected stamps because I was a nerdy kid and I found it interesting. I am not particularly interested in selling my collection to actually realize any value. My collection is just there. It is essentially a stranded asset. I don’t think it fair that some people think my hobby should be taxed.
But is it valuable? Yeah, it contains some stamps that might have significant intrinsic value (like about 15 penny reds, the third oldest stamp in the world). But, if I have no intention to sell, and therefore no intention to actually realize value, then is it truly an asset?
Now there is a philosophical question for you.
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If you have no interest in the monetary value then you have no reason to insure it because all insurance could do is provide you with an equivalent amount of equity if it were lost or destroyed. And since there's no reason to insure it then there would be no reason to even declare it as a financial asset.
To be honest there's always someone who thinks some aspect of taxation is unfair. There are even some who think the concept of taxation itself is unfair. I think fairness is important when it comes to taxation that impedes a person or groups's basic ability to survive and thrive within a society. But otherwise I don't find that those type of grievances that interesting. If you did need to pay, then if you're financially secure enough that you can afford not to care about the worth of a potentially valuable asset then paying a small percentage of its value as tax isn't a real problem. Let's say it turned out to be worth $25k and the wealth tax was 5%. That means you'd need to pay $1250. If it helps, you could just think of the tax as being on your total worth that allowed you to not care about the value of a $25k asset rather than on the asset itself.
And for anyone who couldn't afford to pay it without selling the asset, there could just be a base net worth that someone's total assets would need to exceed before the wealth tax would even apply. Let's say a total worth of $2.5 million or greater. Afterall, there are two main purposes of a wealth tax. To get enough revenue for the government to function and provide beneficial services, and to do it in a way that doesn't overly burden people who are relying on the equity being taxed to ensure their basic survival and well being (as is often the case with income and sales taxes).
But as i said, I don't think something that's never been appraised is likely to be affected.
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