If you are given a stock worth $1 you pay tax on that amount and it is treated is income. Agreed.
If the stock becomes $2 do you owe? No. Unrealized gains. That stock could do anything.
If you trade your $2 stock for a $2 Bill, you owe tax on the $1 gain. We are still tracking.
If you use your stock as collateral for a $1 loan, you already paid taxes for the “income” of $1. I could see arguing that you are “clear”. I would do it like this: when you borrow against stock, I would say that the principle “value” of the loan be taxed as though you had sold the stock which is functioning as principle. So if your $1 stock is now worth $10 and you use $3 to borrow $5 (somehow, let’s just assume it’s not 1:1) I say you owe tax on $3 - $1 = $2. When that loan is done, if you want to do it again, you don’t owe again with that batch of stock. If you take another loan same time, same terms, you also owe tax on $3 more, since you are doing $6 worth of “work”.
This is still a little unsatisfactory to me, but it seems like the most fair. Either the money is usable, and therefore taxable, or it isn’t.
Edit: and of course your brokerage now marks your cost basis for those stocks accordingly because it has been “realized”. If you then sell those stocks for that value you’re all set or if you gain or lose you could have losses or gains respectively for tax purposes. This is still wildly good because you can use the money without selling stocks.
Edit 2: The more I think about this, the more I think you should just be taxed every time on every dollar of stock you leverage. If you want to use it, divest.
If you are given a stock worth $1 you pay tax on that amount and it is treated is income. Agreed.
If the stock becomes $2 do you owe? No. Unrealized gains. That stock could do anything.
If you trade your $2 stock for a $2 Bill, you owe tax on the $1 gain. We are still tracking.
If you use your stock as collateral for a $1 loan, you already paid taxes for the “income” of $1. I could see arguing that you are “clear”. I would do it like this: when you borrow against stock, I would say that the principle “value” of the loan be taxed as though you had sold the stock which is functioning as principle. So if your $1 stock is now worth $10 and you use $3 to borrow $5 (somehow, let’s just assume it’s not 1:1) I say you owe tax on $3 - $1 = $2. When that loan is done, if you want to do it again, you don’t owe again with that batch of stock. If you take another loan same time, same terms, you also owe tax on $3 more, since you are doing $6 worth of “work”.
This is still a little unsatisfactory to me, but it seems like the most fair. Either the money is usable, and therefore taxable, or it isn’t.
Edit: and of course your brokerage now marks your cost basis for those stocks accordingly because it has been “realized”. If you then sell those stocks for that value you’re all set or if you gain or lose you could have losses or gains respectively for tax purposes. This is still wildly good because you can use the money without selling stocks.
Edit 2: The more I think about this, the more I think you should just be taxed every time on every dollar of stock you leverage. If you want to use it, divest.