If you read the article, you would know that the concern

Posted on: October 25, 2021 at 11:28:40 CT

is aimed at those saying "Who cares about the proposal for a tax of unrealized gains on the very wealthy? It won't affect you!"

The history of the income tax followed a similar path, whereby the chief proponents argued that their followers would benefit from the income tax as it would be used to get Northern states (less affected by tariffs) to pay their "fair share" of tax and therefore lessen the impact of overall tax burden on the Southern states.

Only 5 years after its implementation, the income tax was broadly applied to a significant amount of incomes (not just the very wealthy). And with the income tax in place, the govt no longer needed to keep tariffs low enough to optimize revenue (i.e. not totally kill imports) and then started using tariffs for political purposes (i.e. protectionism).

With a "wealth" tax on unrealized gains, the income tax could be used for the same purpose. To punish even more than it already does.

So, yes, you should care.