Brian Galle
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bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle
@bdgesq.bsky.social
6.7K followers 550 following 750 posts

Berkeley law prof guy, erstwhile Georgetown, DOJ, & points in between. Mostly boring tax stuff; occasional dollops of nonprofits, law & econ, etc. Could be arguing in my spare time.

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Economics 48%
Business 26%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Brian D. Galle

rooseveltinstitute.org
Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 15h
Our fellow @bdgesq.bsky.social helped design the California wealth tax now being protested by the pro-billionaire advocates.

Last month, he laid out a national approach to taxing extreme wealth—so public services can be sustainably funded.

Because the tax code clearly isn’t working as intended.
How to Tax the Ultrarich
Learn about the Fair Share Tax (FAST), a practical, constitutionally sound plan to tax the ultrarich, close loopholes, and prevent dynastic wealth accumulation.
rooseveltinstitute.org

Reposted by Brian D. Galle

carnage4life.bsky.social
Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 2d
I can't think of anything I'd want to do less with my time than attending a protest against taxing billionaires. This is an insane amount of bootlicking energy.
An AI startup founder says he's planning a 'March for Billionaires' in protest of California's wealth tax | TechCrunch
The organizer of the event swears it's not a joke.
techcrunch.com

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 3d
You're welcome! But really, 20 pages are bibliography, so it's only 160 pages. 😆

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 3d
News flash! March to protect billionaires from tax too small for their accountants to even notice is unlikely to draw favorable crowds, billionaire-backers say:

www.sfexaminer.com/news/technol...

(also quotes me; for the data I'm citing, see www.nber.org/papers/w34170)
Billionaires march leader ID'd, says effort sincere
Startup founder not billionaire, but supports them.
www.sfexaminer.com

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 4d
Kate, would love your thoughts about whether LLC borrowing could be an important source of missing data in this recent, influential, study of high-earner borrowing:

repository.law.umich.edu/law_econ_cur...

Also scraping and parsing ucc-1 text seems not hard. My DMs, as they say, are open.
The Role of Unrealized Gains and Borrowing in the Taxation of the Rich
As deficits rise and concerns about tax avoidance by the rich increase, we study how unrealized gains and borrowing affect Americans’ income taxes. We have four main findings: First, measuring “econom...
repository.law.umich.edu

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 5d
I do hate it but would probably like it better if I were still a 20 minute walk to good seats. Add Darryn Peterson to AD, Trae, Sarr, and some of the guys who aren't ready yet but getting there and you have at least a fun team.

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 6d
But also definitely read Ray's book it's great.

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 6d
Hey, I'm aware of another new book that directly relates tax policy to these data on how little of their lifetime earnings the ultrarich actually manage to spend. What's that one again? Oh, yeah, it's:
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
How to Tax the Ultrarich
Learn about the Fair Share Tax (FAST), a practical, constitutionally sound plan to tax the ultrarich, close loopholes, and prevent dynastic wealth accumulation.
rooseveltinstitute.org

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 7d
Retweeting for the kid in the t-shirt. The guy dressed as the Monopoly top-hat character...I mean, I chuckled, but a bit easy. Let's get creative out there, people.
sfist.bsky.social SFist @sfist.bsky.social · 7d
A group claiming that “Vilifying billionaires is popular. Losing them is expensive” is holding a March for Billionaires in SF on Saturday, seemingly hoping to tap some silent majority that actually loves the billionaire class. buff.ly/jcF7sRW
A ‘Pro-Billionaire’ March and Rally Is Coming to SF Saturday, and Apparently This Is Not a Joke
A group claiming that “Vilifying billionaires is popular. Losing them is expensive” is holding a March for Billionaires in SF on Saturday, seemingly hoping to tap some silent majority that actually…
buff.ly

Reposted by Brian D. Galle

sfist.bsky.social
SFist @sfist.bsky.social · 7d
A group claiming that “Vilifying billionaires is popular. Losing them is expensive” is holding a March for Billionaires in SF on Saturday, seemingly hoping to tap some silent majority that actually loves the billionaire class. buff.ly/jcF7sRW
A ‘Pro-Billionaire’ March and Rally Is Coming to SF Saturday, and Apparently This Is Not a Joke
A group claiming that “Vilifying billionaires is popular. Losing them is expensive” is holding a March for Billionaires in SF on Saturday, seemingly hoping to tap some silent majority that actually…
buff.ly

Reposted by Brian D. Galle

rooseveltinstitute.org
Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 7d
Our fellow @bdgesq.bsky.social helped design the California tax. Now, he’s advancing a nationwide ultra-wealth tax—to rein in extreme wealth and, by extension, curb the political power that currently comes with it in every state in the country.

Read the plan here:
How to Tax the Ultrarich
Learn about the Fair Share Tax (FAST), a practical, constitutionally sound plan to tax the ultrarich, close loopholes, and prevent dynastic wealth accumulation.
rooseveltinstitute.org

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 8d
"The butlers' march"

Reposted by Brian D. Galle

marchforbillionaires.org
March for Billionaires @marchforbillionaires.org · 9d
We're serious. No one is paying us for this. We know that our views are unpopular here, but we believe in engaging in good-faith discourse with those of differing opinions.

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 9d
Apparently, this is real. Or if it's actually by that Borat guy, he created a very, very deadpan web site.

Anyway, imagine the vanity & self-regard it would take to organize a protest *this* week and it's against a 1% annual tax on billionaires.

Reposted by Brian D. Galle, Aaron Sojourner, Stephen D. Murphy , and 1 more

jmijin.bsky.social
J. Mijin Cha @jmijin.bsky.social · 9d
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
March for Billionaires — San Francisco, Feb 7
Stand up for the entrepreneurs, innovators, and risk-takers who build our economy. February 7, 2026.
marchforbillionaires.org

Reposted by Brian D. Galle

rooseveltinstitute.org
Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 9d
@oxfaminternational.bsky.social reports billionaire wealth has reached a new peak. Policy needs to catch up.

The FAST proposal from @bdgesq.bsky.social offers a practical way to tax the ultrarich in the US ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4btkkp0

Reposted by Brian D. Galle

patrioticmillionaires.org
Patriotic Millionaires @patrioticmillionaires.org · 10d
Six months ago, we told you all about how NYC millionaires wouldn’t run for the hills if Mamdani won and raised their taxes.

Now, we’re debunking the same myth with the new California billionaire tax ballot measure.

Learn more in our new Closer Look:
patrioticmillionaires.org/perspectives...
Here's the skinny on the California wealth tax ballot measure
patrioticmillionaires.org

Reposted by Brian D. Galle

ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social
UC Berkeley Law @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social · 11d
“I’m interested in how things work. And right now, it [capitalism] doesn’t seem to be working well,” Professor Brian Galle (@bdgesq.bsky.social) spoke to @fortune.com about his new book, How to Tax the Ultrarich: https://bit.ly/3LTOA1V
California billionaires’ revolt over a 1% annual tax is ‘nonsense,’ architect says: A 1% annual tax won’t doom anyone’s business | Fortune
UC Berkeley professor Brian Galle told Fortune he’s an “enthusiastic capitalist” and his tax ideas have nothing to do with harming the U.S. economy.
fortune.com

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
In short, the FAST offers a path towards getting a more genuinely progressive tax system that is hard for ultrarich investors to dodge, while fitting into the narrow legal path the Court is willing to accept. Read more: bit.ly/4rk6wBM
12/12
How to Tax the Ultrarich
Learn about the Fair Share Tax (FAST), a practical, constitutionally sound plan to tax the ultrarich, close loopholes, and prevent dynastic wealth accumulation.
bit.ly

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
As a special transition rule, anyone who makes the election to pay early within the first 2 years of the new regime would just pay capital gains, not the extra FAST charge. That would strongly incentivize investors to pay tax on their existing $2-4 trillion in untaxed gains right away.
11/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
One other key element is that taxpayers would have the option to pay earlier than sale. This is very similar to existing rules for interests in foreign mutual funds, known as PFICs. We want people to make the election b/c we want that money within Congress’ 10-year budget window.
10/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
What this means economically is wealthy investors would no longer have a tax reason to hold onto their property. Government would get the same revenue as it would have under a wealth or MtM tax. We'd get the progressivity, too. Everything would look like wealth or MtM tax, except the timing.
9/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
The FAST taxes a successful investor who sells in an amount that leaves them with exactly the $$ they would have had if they had been paying annual tax all along, and re-investing the remaining proceeds. So the rate is higher the more the property has increased in value.
8/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
My proposal – which I call the Fair Share Tax, or FAST—aims to get us the revenues and incentives of an MtM tax (taxing gains/losses each year regardless of sale) while still fitting within the Court’s definition of “income” as happening only at sale. The way to do that is to adjust the rate.
7/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
But at the federal level, there is a constitutional problem. In 2024, SCOTUS suggested that broad-based wealth & MtM taxes would likely be inconsistent with the 16th Am. definition of “income.” That claim is silly & ahistorical. So is a lot of what this Court says, but it’s the law right now.
6/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
Common solutions include either a wealth tax or a “mark-to-market” income tax. MtM is just an income tax where each year changes in the value of unsold property are included in income. Without one of these, it would be very hard to impose a meaningful tax burden on the wealthiest households.
5/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
The key problem is that our income tax system (mostly) only taxes investment gains at sale. That allows those who are rich enough to have the luxury of waiting to hold highly appreciated property for a long time, and often until death, greatly reducing their tax burden.
4/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
Why? Few reasonable people today will look at our federal tax system and say it’s fair or it’s working. Billionaires pay a 20% lower all-in rate than the median household. That wealth—and the social control it offers--can then pass down tax-free for generations. Tax policy can help.
3/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
The core proposal is to impose an extra income tax on gains from sale of property in excess of a lifetime $15m exemption. The rate rises the more the sold property has appreciated. The estate tax is replaced with an additional tax at sale on inherited property, plus a small annual down payment.
2/12

bdgesq.bsky.social
Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 11d
Readers, today is the exciting launch day for my book!

How to Tax the Ultrarich
bit.ly/4rk6wBM

In partnership with the great economic policy team @rooseveltinstitute.org

A few threads will follow. 1st, the key takeaway: even w/ *this* Supreme Court, we can tax wealth at the federal level.

1/12
How to Tax the Ultrarich
Learn about the Fair Share Tax (FAST), a practical, constitutionally sound plan to tax the ultrarich, close loopholes, and prevent dynastic wealth accumulation.
bit.ly