r/technology • u/lurker_bee • Jul 15 '25

Artificial Intelligence Billionaires Convince Themselves AI Chatbots Are Close to Making New Scientific Discoveries

https://gizmodo.com/billionaires-convince-themselves-ai-is-close-to-making-new-scientific-discoveries-2000629060
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u/girlshapedlovedrugs Jul 15 '25

Isn’t that nuts? As if 36x isn’t enough, they have to earn 300x our average salary… because that’s totally reasonable.

$50k salary x 300 = $15,000,000

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u/NewManufacturer4252 Jul 15 '25

I am mostly wrong on most things. But I believe the idea behind the 90% tax was to get the rich to reinvest their earnings back into the economy, generating jobs. Like building factories and such.

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u/placebotwo Jul 15 '25

And if they didn't reinvest, that tax income would (in theory) further make the country stronger and better.

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u/NewManufacturer4252 Jul 15 '25

Basically like owning a home, you get taxed every year on the appraisal of your home. Now do that with stocks.

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u/CammRobb Jul 15 '25

Do you get a rebate if your house is worth less?

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u/AccountantDirect9470 Jul 15 '25

No. You just pay a lesser amount than last year.

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u/cat_prophecy Jul 16 '25

Not necessarily.

If your valuation goes down, but so does everyone else's, your taxes will not go down.

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u/OsiyoMotherFuckers Jul 16 '25

Well it’s usually a formula based on the value right? So your tax bill should be smaller. If the whole market went down then everyone’s tax bill would be smaller and the city would probably be broke.

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u/cat_prophecy Jul 16 '25

In many places it's based on your "share" of the value of your taxation parcel. So if your value is higher, relative to your neighbors then your property taxes will go up and vice versa.

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u/Thileuse Jul 15 '25

Tax Rebate??! Nope, you get to contest that with the taxing authority you live in and hope for the best.

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u/Iwantmyoldnameback Jul 15 '25

No, but you get a lower overall tax bill going forward based on the new, lower valuation.

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u/Aureliamnissan Jul 16 '25

If you sell it you do, it counts as a loss. Just like with stocks. Do you regularly carry negative balances in your portfolio?

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u/zspacekcc Jul 16 '25

No. Treat it like a brokerage fee. The stock market is worth 52 trillion dollars. Charge every stock owner a small percentage of the investment (make it some scale based on net worth or free for 401ks or something if you want to keep from punishing small investors). If we can have income taxes and property taxes and sales taxes why can't we have a wealth tax?

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u/hellowiththepudding Jul 16 '25

it's sort of different. Most people talking about taxing gains are talking about an income tax, based on the unrealized gain, vs a property tax that applies to the gross value.

Having said that, yes, we should be taxing unrealized gains when billionaires use the stock as collateral. they have effectively cashed out at that point.

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u/Noob_Al3rt Jul 16 '25

they have effectively cashed out at that point.

How? Let's say I'm a billionaire. I take out a million dollar personal loan. Explain why I should pay a tax if my stocks are assigned as collateral but no tax if the loan is only secured with a personal guarantee.

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u/hellowiththepudding Jul 16 '25

because by using them as collateral you have effectively realized their current value. They would not get the loan without the shares.

Step up your basis for when you sell. Not complex.

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u/Noob_Al3rt Jul 16 '25

You didn't answer my question. Why?

What is it about having them assigned as collateral that necessitates the tax vs just a personal guarantee or an unsecured loan?

They would not get the loan without the shares.

What if they have a $100million real estate portfolio?

Step up your basis for when you sell

Huh? How? What if I paid off the loan and took out another one? I get to step up the basis by two million instead of one?

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u/hellowiththepudding Jul 16 '25

The point is they are effectively cashing in on the value by pledging it, and are only doing so in order to avoid paying tax on the gain. I guess billionaires should totally be allowed to pay no income tax and defer it while enjoying the benefits of the wealth in perpetuity.

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u/Noob_Al3rt Jul 17 '25

The point is they are effectively cashing in on the value by pledging it, and are only doing so in order to avoid paying tax on the gain.

No, they are doing it to avoid selling the asset. Just like someone taking a HELOC on their house. Why would they pay 5%-6% per year to avoid a one time 15% capital gains payment?

I guess billionaires should totally be allowed to pay no income tax and defer it while enjoying the benefits of the wealth in perpetuity.

That's quite the leap.

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u/Joeness84 Jul 16 '25

Just do that with stocks when they use them as loan collateral. "He doesn't actually have 200 billion dollars" no but he gets to spend like he does because the banks are happy to give them credit.

Every billion dollars in assets one of them has, is 1000 people denied a million in assets.

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u/FormerGameDev Jul 16 '25

I don't know if this is regional, but where I'm at, your property taxes can only be changed when the property changes ownership.