Tags
Basis
Claims
Partially Supported
W2 Wages, Cost Basis, and the Asymmetry the Tax Code Won't Explain
The claim that wages aren't 'income' has been rejected by every federal court that's heard it. But buried inside the losing argument is a genuine observation: labor is the only factor of production denied a cost basis. That asymmetry is real, indefensible, and worth understanding on its own terms.
Basis
The taxpayer's investment in an asset, recoverable tax-free before any gain is recognized. The mechanism that makes capital taxation a tax on gain rather than gross receipts.