Joe Biden, Xi Jinping Have Something In Common

Whether you’re the leader of a nominally democratic country or a nominally communist one doesn’t really matter: Either way, extracting some additional tax revenue isn’t going to be easy.

Under the new plan, backed by the administration, banks would only be required to provide data on accounts with total annual deposits or withdrawals worth more than $10,000, rather than the $600 threshold that was initially proposed. The reporting requirement would not apply to payroll deposits for wage and salary earners or to beneficiaries of federal programs such as Social Security.

The narrowing of the plan came after a steady lobbying campaign by banks and a rhetorical barrage from Republicans….

China has experimented with a tax on some properties in just a couple of cities during the past decade. Earlier this year, Mr. Xi assigned to Han Zheng, the most senior of China’s four vice premiers, the task of rolling out the levy much more widely, these people say.

But Beijing is now settling for a limited tax plan because of strong pushback, while a proposal involving state-provided affordable housing is emerging as an alternative.

Sometimes, however, the easy way out is certainly attractive, such as allowing the Peter Thiels of the world to pay for your agenda for the next 10 years with a tax strategy you nominally deplore.

Unlike other aspects of Democrats’ tax package, most of which would take effect in 2022, the prohibition on Roth conversions of pre-tax funds doesn’t kick in for 10 years. The long lead time would give more wealthy taxpayers the ability to convert their retirement accounts before being disallowed — which would eke out extra tax revenue for Democrats’ policy agenda, experts said.

Democrats scale back a proposal to require banks to report balances to the I.R.S. [NYT]
In Tackling China’s Real-Estate Bubble, Xi Jinping Faces Resistance to Property-Tax Plan [WSJ]
Here’s why Democrats’ proposed elimination of Roth conversions for the wealthy doesn’t start until 2032 [CNBC]

For more of the latest in litigation, regulation, deals and financial services trends, sign up for Finance Docket, a partnership between Breaking Media publications Above the Law and Dealbreaker.