Interesting piece from Ron Lieber on how the government might someday tax Roth IRAs, which are supposed to be all-but-exempt from taxation once you fund them with after-tax dollars. It would be a great betrayal and breed even higher levels of anti-government cynicism if Washington were to ever subject Roth assets to double taxation.

At the most extreme end, the federal government might try to tax the earnings on a Roth after all, say through the capital gains tax, which is currently at 15 percent for long-term gains but could go up in the next few years. Or it might levy some sort of an excise tax on excessive balances, however those might be defined.

Roths are especially useful for estate planning purposes. Regular I.R.A. holders have to start taking money out once they reach the age of 70 and a half, but Roth owners don’t have to take money out during their lifetimes. Heirs of Roth holders, meanwhile, pay no income taxes when they cash out of the inherited account and can spread those distributions over an entire lifetime, allowing for decades more of tax-free growth thanks to the wonders of compound interest. Some part of this could certainly change.