Wealth tax is almost impossible, says billionaire Jamie Dimon

Calculating wealth can be “extremely complicated,” according to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who says the rich should be taxed on their income which is “given” and harder to cheat.

“A wealth tax is almost impossible to do,” Dimon told CNBC-TV18 at the JPMorgan India summit on Tuesday when he was asked whether he’s in favor of such a proposal put forth by several US Democrats.

“I’m not against having higher tax on the wealthy. But I think that you do that through their income as opposed to, you know, calculate wealth which becomes extremely complicated, legalistic, bureaucratic, regulatory, and people find a million ways around it. I would just tax income,” he said.

Dimon, 64, who has a reported net worth of $1.3 billion and makes $31.5 million per year, says he has “no problem” paying higher taxes on his salary, as long as the government spends that money wisely.

According to the chief executive, governments should put more thought into how taxes are structured so that the economy can grow. “There’re taxes which will slow down growth, like taxes on capital formation, or labor; and there’re taxes which will not affect growth like taxes on, you know, well-to-do people like me.”

READ MORE: Jamie Dimon’s ‘inclusive economy’ is fool’s gold as wealth inequality hits new highs

The billionaire banker added: “And I just think there should be far more thought about taxation... if you want an active, healthy, growing economy.”

A study published last year by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development found that the US lost more tax revenue than any other developed country in 2018, largely due to US President Donald Trump’s tax cuts.

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