Issue 41 Asset Taxes March 26,2013

Did you know that in the country of Cyprus, an Island nation in the Mediterranean, the government there may issue an asset tax? You are probably wondering what on Earth an asset tax is. Well it is a tax on the amount of money in your bank account. Basically, just like income tax, but it taxes how much money you have.

Back Ground: The reason they want to implement this form of taxation in Cyprus is because most of the members of the European Union are bankrupt and that includes Cyprus. They spent more than they took in tax revenue just like the United States is doing now, but did not fix the problem in time to save themselves. So they got a bailout, but they still have to meet payments. Thus, their asset tax.

It can happen here: There is currently no law or constitutional provision that prevents the United States Congress or the American President from taxing our assets in the same way. While yes, the constitution does list four types of taxation (impost, expost, excise and through the 16th amendment an income tax), it does not limit taxation to just those four. In fact, the reason the affordable health care act (Obama Care) was declared constitutional was due to Supreme Court ruling that the financial penalties for not having health insurance were a tax. Thus, in order to insure that American Citizens are not taxed on their assets, or for that matter in any other way we do not like, we would need a Supreme Court ruling limiting taxation to just the taxes listed in the United States Constitution.

I pray that the situation in Cyprus and the rest of the European Union is resolved. But, their crises is a warning to the rest of the world, if it can happen in Democratic European Countries, then who is to say that it cannot happen in the rest of the world. Good luck to you people of Cyprus, and for that matter, good luck to the rest of the people around the globe.