Tiger the Taxpayer

Should this man really be smiling?

Sometime in the next 20 months, Tiger Woods will become the first billionaire athlete. The remarkable thing about this feat is that he has done it solely on the power of his paychecks-- winnings and endorsements.

As the first billionaire to achieve the status in this manner, that means he has paid an inordinate amount of money in taxes versus, say, Bill Gates or Warren Buffet who have made their pile almost exclusively on capital appreciation. One estimate puts Tiger's tax bill upwards of 45%, versus the 15% Messrs Gates and Buffet, and nearly every Wall Street hedge fund manager, pay on long term capital gains.

This brings up a fundamental item: The abundant taxation in this country on actively generated income, in other words, working for a living. Why is that? Europe has a greater emphasis on consumption tax with their value-added tax and I would argue that passive income should be taxed at least as much as workers' paychecks.

The incentives in our system are against working at a job, and favor generating passive income through investment and speculation. And while investment may be important, is it really more important than productive employment? Tiger's tragedy is emblematic of every working stiff in the country.

Poor Mr. and Mrs. Woods.