Lifecycle Revenue Capture Overview

Engine: Engine 1: Revenue Capture

Framing

The Revenue Capture (Engine 1) captures value at every stage of its formation: compensation, income, consumption, wealth, externalities, and settlement. This lifecycle approach eliminates structural avoidance channels that drain the current US system.

The six capture points

Compensation (payroll tax, Chapter 6) — Uncapped 28% levy on all compensation. Replaces FICA.

Income (progressive tax, Chapter 7) — 12-bracket progressive structure topping at 52%. Capital gains treated as ordinary income above exemption.

Consumption (VAT, Chapter 8) — 10% standard / 15% luxury on portion above category thresholds. Universal monthly Pre-bate neutralizes burden on basic consumption.

Externalities (Chapters 10, 22) — Documented harms priced at source. Revenue routed to household dividends or ring-fenced trusts.

Wealth (Chapter 9) — v10.4 escalator: 0.75% to 2.5% on net worth above $10M individual / $20M joint, escalating at $50M / $250M / $1B / $10B thresholds. Tax-exempt institutions (university endowments, foundations including family-controlled, religious endowments, hospital systems) pay the institutional investment excise on assets above the $5M deduction and 24-month operating-reserve safe harbor.

Settlement (Chapter 9) — v10.4: Estate tax launching at 32 / 37 / 42% (Year-10 step to 30 / 35 / 40%), plus accession tax (25% cap) on the heir's lifetime receipts and a flat-35% GST on direct skips. Dynasty/perpetual trusts pay the dynasty-class institutional excise. Expatriation realization event for the Estate Tax Prepayment Plan.

Net revenue at maturity

The six capture points together produce approximately $13.5 trillion in unified receipts at Year 10 (central scenario per the v10 workbook), with deployable surplus of approximately $0.79 trillion after obligated spending. Conservative scenario yields −$0.63T (i.e., a small Year-10 deficit absorbed by Debt Sunset's coupled tax-corridor steps); Optimistic scenario yields +$3.17T. Climate Adaptation Trust deposits (gross carbon and Methane Accountability and Reduction Levy revenue above the household rebate) are ring-fenced and not counted in deployable surplus.

Why this architecture, not higher rates on a single instrument

Raising any single tax to produce $14T in new revenue would push that instrument past its behavioral tolerance. Distributing the capture across six instruments keeps each within a range where behavioral response is modest.