Bernie Sanders' Tax Proposal | My First Million Podcast

TL;DR

Bernie Sanders' proposed tax on vested but uncashed nonqualified stock options (minimum $100k vested, employee salary ≥$130k) would harm startup founders and employees who are paper-rich but cash-poor.

Key insights

• The tax targets nonqualified stock options (not RSUs or ISOs) for people with at least $100k in vested shares and a salary >$130k, so it does not apply to everyone.
• Founders often have low W2 salaries (e.g., speaker’s salary was $24k in year one, $36k in year two) even when their company is valued at millions; this makes them unable to pay taxes on paper gains wi
• Employees leaving a startup typically have a 90-day exercise window to buy their vested options, often requiring $80k–$180k cash they don’t have, leading to forfeiture. Some companies (Pinterest, Stri