Interesting that YC is jumping on this tax code thing, but the shitty tax situation for employees trying to hold onto the equity they've earned is just ignored.
The number one problem for startup employees is that the AMT tax makes it impossible to exercise options in a company that is doing well. YC is showing us that they will fight for changes to the tax code when it benefits their bottom line directly, but are silent when it comes to helping startup employees hold onto equity that they have earned.
Think carefully before joining a YC startup as an employee.
It's much worse than that. The whole US tax system is severely regressive, with labor paying up to 50% incremental rate if your income is low enough, and return on capital paying as little as zero if you have enough of it.
It's possible to care about more than one thing. Who doesn't?
Yes, it is possible to care about more than one thing.
YC was founded more than 20 years ago, and I don't recall any lobbying on the issue of employee tax treatment. If they do care about this they are being super quiet about it.
Can’t you just exercise early to avoid AMT?