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Capital gains tax on
homes offsets Prop. 13
Re: “Cut capital gains tax on home sales” (Page A6, Dec. 15).
Capital gains taxes on the sale of a principal residence already include a $250,000 exclusion for individuals ($500,000 for couples). Perhaps it would be more fair to simply tax any gain above the current assessed property value used for taxes? That way, those who have benefited from Proposition 13 can pay a “true-up” for years of reduced property taxes when they finally sell their real estate.
Since long-term California homeowners are accustomed to minimal increases in property taxes, the capital gains tax may seem unfair. When a real tax bill finally comes due, however, owners should remember the many years they have benefited from lower taxes they enjoyed while living in their home, not gripe about one “small” tax on their successful investment.
Landon Sterk
San Jose
Carbon dividend would
help end fossil fuel
Re: “Delegates agree to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels” (Page A4, Dec. 14).
News that nearly 200 countries have agreed to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels — “the first time they’ve made that crucial pledge in decades of U.N. climate talks” — is indeed encouraging.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “The era of fossil fuels must end — and it must end with justice and equity.”
I’m hopeful that Guterres’ statement will ring true and that the world will succeed in transitioning away from fossil fuels in time.
The United States must step up and do its part. While effective climate-related legislation has passed in recent years, an economy-wide policy like a carbon fee and dividend is the most effective solution to lower emissions at the speed required. Money collected from fossil fuel companies would be distributed to households making this policy just and equitable.
Urge your members of Congress to support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.
Paula Danz
Los Altos
Tips are vital to
minimum-wage workers
Re: “Americans are torn about the new culture of tipping” (Page A6, Dec. 14).
So-called “tipflation” is real and worth talking about seriously, but for many people working difficult, low-wage jobs, tips are vital income, not a participation trophy.
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Federal minimum wage has been stagnant for over a decade even as inflation eats away at the buying power of Americans’ paychecks. In California, minimum wage is higher, but still barely enough to rent an apartment and buy groceries, to say nothing of repaying student loans or raising a child.
For establishments that only pay minimum wage, tips are an incentive to attract and retain workers. They could offer better wages or benefits, but the free market has found tips to be more economically efficient. If business owners could remunerate employees with participation trophies, they would probably buy them in bulk from overseas and hand them out like candy; but trophies don’t pay the bills, and these days minimum wage doesn’t either.
Max Tarlov
Sunnyvale
