Australian Politics Forum - Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"

MeisterEckhart

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Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"
May 12^th, 2026 at 8:44am

Gary Stevenson's crusade on 'Mega Tax on the Mega Rich' continues..

He argues that the core economic problem is not just low wages or weak growth, but the extreme concentration of wealth among the richest people, who use surplus capital to buy up scarce assets such as housing, land, shares and gold, pushing prices beyond the reach of ordinary workers.

His solution is to tax accumulated wealth directly, rather than relying mainly on income taxes, because workers and professionals are taxed on earnings while the ultra-rich can often hold assets, borrow against them, and avoid taxable sales.

In his view, a serious wealth tax would slow the hoarding of assets, reduce pressure on housing and public finances, and help prevent inequality from driving social and political instability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHEEwZS_uuM

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freediver Gold Member Offline www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 53024 At my desk.	Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich" Reply #1 - May 12^th, 2026 at 11:48am Every country that has tried this has turned into a failure. The wealthy just leave, and take all their money with them.
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lee Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 20749 Gender:	Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich" Reply #2 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:27pm Gary Stephenson, millionaire, former financial trader just doesn't want others do as he did.
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MeisterEckhart

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Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"
Reply #3 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:36pm

freediver wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 11:48am:

Every country that has tried this has turned into a failure. The wealthy just leave, and take all their money with them.

Yep, that's a thing. The idea would have to be taken up by the entire First World, such that there's nowhere viable to run to.

It's also how the likes of Rhinehart and her mining peers can blackmail Australian state and federal governments and the Australian people against taxing their industry, by threatening to shut down mines.

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freediver

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Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"
Reply #4 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:40pm

MeisterEckhart wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 12:36pm:

freediver wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 11:48am:

Every country that has tried this has turned into a failure. The wealthy just leave, and take all their money with them.

Yep, that's a thing. The idea would have to be taken up by the entire First World, such that there's nowhere viable to run to.

It's also how the likes of Rhinehart and her mining peers can blackmail Australian state and federal governments and the Australian people against taxing their industry, by threatening to shut down mines.

You would find the mega rich suddenly want to invest their money in developing countries.

Or they would lose it all on bitcoin. Without a trace. Then go on long holidays.

Or 'gift' it all to close relatives.

Or just not bother accumulating wealth in the first place.

There is no way round it, because it is a bad idea to begin with. You create a huge disincentive for those who know how to invest in the future to do that. You would merely get rid of the mega rich, not create a magical stream of government revenue.

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MeisterEckhart

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Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"
Reply #5 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:41pm

lee wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 12:27pm:

Gary Stephenson, millionaire, former financial trader just doesn't want others do as he did. Roll Eyes

He's also not one of the mega-rich.

He's referring to multi-billionaires who pour so much wealth into appreciating assets, to bury their wealth from prying nation-state eyes and hands, like housing, such that those assets have become unaffordium even for the moderately well-off, let alone the young and assetless, and those in the low socioeconomic brackets.

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freediver Gold Member Offline www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 53024 At my desk.	Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich" Reply #6 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:45pm When the mega rich invest in housing, builders get a raise and rents go down. Inner city prices go up, but we are not exactly short on land here. The floor in the market price of land is it's value for agricultural production, and the government fees you have to pay to develop it.
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MeisterEckhart

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Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"
Reply #7 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:45pm

freediver wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 12:40pm:

MeisterEckhart wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 12:36pm:

freediver wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 11:48am:

Every country that has tried this has turned into a failure. The wealthy just leave, and take all their money with them.

Yep, that's a thing. The idea would have to be taken up by the entire First World, such that there's nowhere viable to run to.

It's also how the likes of Rhinehart and her mining peers can blackmail Australian state and federal governments and the Australian people against taxing their industry, by threatening to shut down mines.

You would find the mega rich suddenly want to invest their money in developing countries.

Or they would lose it all on bitcoin. Without a trace. Then go on long holidays.

Or 'gift' it all to close relatives.

Or just not bother accumulating wealth in the first place.

There is no way round it, because it is a bad idea to begin with. You create a huge disincentive for those who know how to invest in the future to do that. You would merely get rid of the mega rich, not create a magical stream of government revenue.

There are ways around it, but it would not be free market capitalism at that level of wealth.

It would have to be virtually illegal everywhere to be that rich in the first place. Imagine telling Americans that they can't personally own everything.

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MeisterEckhart

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Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"
Reply #8 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:47pm

freediver wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 12:45pm:

When the mega rich invest in housing, builders get a raise and rents go down. Inner city prices go up, but we are not exactly short on land here. The floor in the market price of land is it's value for agricultural production, and the government fees you have to pay to develop it.

Yep... there's always plenty of land out where the crows live, eh!

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freediver

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Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"
Reply #9 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:47pm

Quote:

There are ways around it, but it's not free market capitalism at that level of wealth.

That's exactly what it is.

This is the politics of jealousy, nothing more. Everyone would be worse off, but you might feel better because you hate the rich so much. Like communist happily starving to death on an equal basis. It does not become less stupid because you only do it a little bit. You cannot mount a rational argument in support of this, so you fall back on mindless slogans.

Quote:

It would have to be virtually illegal everywhere to be that rich in the first place. Imagine telling Americans that they can't personally own everything.

What are you on about now?

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lee Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 20749 Gender:	Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich" Reply #10 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:49pm MeisterEckhart wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 12:41pm: He's also not one of the mega-rich. Ah, so he also gets to define who is mega-rich. how novel. And it is ok to be just shy of being mega-rich.
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MeisterEckhart

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Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"
Reply #11 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:55pm

freediver wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 12:47pm:

Quote:

It would have to be virtually illegal everywhere to be that rich in the first place. Imagine telling Americans that they can't personally own everything.

What are you on about now?

Not that hard to work out...

The mega-rich would have to be declared criminals for not declaring or surrendering their wealth over a known limit for a state to police private wealth at the mega level.

American culture is predicated on the dream of having it all with minimal communal responsibility... It's why even slavery wasn't off the table... and it would probably have lasted much longer had the fledgling US not been pressured so hard in the early 19th century by world powers led by Britain.

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MeisterEckhart

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Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich"
Reply #12 - May 12^th, 2026 at 12:58pm

lee wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 12:49pm:

MeisterEckhart wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 12:41pm:

He's also not one of the mega-rich.

Ah, so he also gets to define who is mega-rich. how novel. Cool

And it is ok to be just shy of being mega-rich. Wink

You can define it if you like... If you're a codger on the bones of your arse, anyone with a hundred grand in assets might be mega-rich.

I'd bet most boomer Australians would be worth over a million or so in assets, so not mega-rich relatively speaking...

What's your benchmark?

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Dnarever Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 61652 Here Gender:	Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich" Reply #13 - May 12^th, 2026 at 1:19pm Taxing the mega rich more isn't necessary just get them to pay half the tax that they should pay.
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Bobby. Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 119703 Melbourne Gender:	Re: Gary Stevenson: "Tax the Mega Rich" Reply #14 - May 12^th, 2026 at 1:35pm freediver wrote on May 12^th, 2026 at 11:48am: Every country that has tried this has turned into a failure. The wealthy just leave, and take all their money with them. When they sell up they pay capital gains tax so it costs them big bucks to leave.
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