[anthonj]

I don't get how this works in practice. I am not wealthy, I don't even own an house. But I have a decent salary and buy some stocks occasionally.

Most of my stocks are kinda volatile, so by paying taxes on unrealized gain I am taking much higher risk for owning them every year I don't sell. I would literally be paying taxes on money I don't own yet and could easily lose at the first mayor market upset.