Taxes Paid Breakdowns
- Thread starter snarlcakes
- Start date
Everyone should pay his fair share. I don't know what my fair share might be exactly, but it sure as hell isn't zero, which is what I pay now.
That's the problem... everyone says the rich should pay their fair share but will never tell you what their fair share is. The answer is always "more than what they pay now".
I don't think there's anything wrong with paying zero since everyone's situation is different. However I think they could fix some of the problems in the tax laws that would make things a little more fair. They talk about a wealth tax to get the really rich but I think that is crazy. They could fix a lot of that by simply, after a certain income level, making a window for claiming the long term gains on stock sales rather than anything after a year. The law now is that after holding a stock for a year you get to claim it as long term gains and pay a lower tax rate on it. Why not make it a window after a certain income level. For example, they could claim long term gains between 1 and 10 years but any sales before 1 year and after 10 years would be taxed at regular tax rates. That would encourage people to sale stocks so the gains could be taxed and if the person thought the stock was still a good investment they could buy it back at the current price.
SC, just curious.
Do you believe a tax cut for our high earners will actually increase revenues?
none of this matters
you could raise the tax rate to 100% and the government would still spend 110%
it's easy to give away what isn't yours
I'd like the income tax to go away and be replaced with a combination of national sales tax and a flat rate tax.
The 'flat rate' could be adjusted for income, but everyone would pay something.
Of course, it would put a lot of tax services out of business.....
I've long felt the only people who pay what they really owe to the federal government are those with payroll deductions who have no other earnings and those who undergo an IRS audit.
State and local taxes tend to be regressive so combined with more progressive federal income taxes the entire system is somewhat equitable (except for the cheaters and those who hire highly qualified folks to challenge the system).
In the final analysis, the value added tax as proposed by guys such as Bruce Bartlett may be the way to go.
Bartlett was once a supply side advisor to Ronald Reagan who found the error of his ways.
Nobody “really owes” anything to the government. Of course the government needs money to operate. Thus we enacted various taxes. But nobody in government really gives a damn about using taxes to fund governmental operations any more. Government has evolved way beyond being an operating entity. It is now a force in life that does not just operate.
Government has become disconnected from taxes. Let that sink in.
Government spends all kinds of money on various things without even thinking about taxes. Or even thinking if most voters would agree. (How many would agree to spend public tax money on flying unskilled migrants into the US from the third world?)
On the other hand, taxes have mostly become a cudgel used to bash political opponents or a benefit to be handed out to secure the political support, or used to force people to behave in a certain way. In other words, the federal tax system is a political tool, not a funding mechanism.
I think the only cure would probably be a flat tax with no deductions.
As for Keynes, assuming without conceding, his easy money philosophy is useful during depressions or recessions, we have taken the easy money policies and applied them across the board all the time. Just cuz some Keynes is good, doesn’t mean more is better.
Not a big fan of the VAT. I've seen how it works in Europe and it's a nightmare and hinders business.
Not sure. There are a lot of factors to consider and I’ve never studied it. I know revenues have increased since the Trump tax cuts. If memory serves correct, corporate tax cuts tend to or can increase revenues.
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CoH, Keynes "easy money" ?
Since when is running deficits during recessions and accumulating revenues during good economies as called for by Keynes called "easy money".
Easy money in my book is always running deficits and not raising taxes or cutting spending regardless of what is happening with the economy as we have been doing for decades. In other words, not making the tough calls.
not a numbers guy but does this data indicate the rich are paying too much or that this country has a lot of working poor? both?
The past 3 years tax receipts are all higher than 2018 tax receipts.
The trick is to just focus on income tax, because in that case it's a very progressive tax the higher up the chain.
The issue is the 'income' of the 'income tax' accounts for just part of the overall tax that people pay in, with a huge section being payroll taxes (SS, Medicare).
I also believe payroll taxes are capped at an income of $130,000 (so if you make $500k in 'income', you only are taxed off of $130k). Therefore making that rate much smaller for richer people.
If you are an owner or super rich, you have ways to get this. For one you give yourself a very small salary and pay your wealth using much smaller rates (like a smaller corporate rate or capital gains....which is why people tend to bitch when those two are lower than basic income rates...it incentivizes the rich to not claim income and therefore not pay higher income tax rates.
Lastly, and this is a loose argument I'll admit, the rich typically don't pay the same % of sales tax to their income or wealth, even though consumption taxes are flat taxes. Meaning there's a minimum level of stuff that everyone needs to buy to survive (food, shelter) and when you are poor those buckets make up a much bigger portion of your total income...and with that the sales tax you pay for that stuff is a much bigger portion vs rich folk where basic consumables are not as large a piece to their wealth.
Anyway, the rule of thumb is if you're getting paid a check from someone, then you are most likely having that money taxed at the max percent.
When you are an owner...there are a million more ways to get around that.
For the super ultra rich, many claim they have no income and just borrow the money they need at a greatly reduced rate and waaaay below the income tax rate. They keep all their assets pure without selling so they never pay any taxes on them.
Then they die and their aires pick up those assets at the value it determined at death vs the value it was when it was purchased.
That effectively wipes out decades of taxable gains.
It's called the 'buy, borrow, die' strategy (if you are bored and want to go down a you tube hole).
Again, you want to be an owner not a worker.
Too much for my tax dollars to be paying for.
That’s almost as much as I make (privately) and from the years I’ve seen you post here you ain’t worth it.
We have a lot of bloat in this federal government.
Unbelievable that you would flaunt that proudly. Taxation is theft, or at least it is for us conservatives.
I remember when my current wife saw my first commission week paycheck. I had paid more taxes than she would make in 4-5 months (for all the years that she was basically a single mom raising 3 kids) and she was effing pissed, shocked, but pissed that they would take that much from her new found life.
15 years later, and now that she has been reverted to being the Karen clone of our youngest crack whore daughter, it's all "I hate Trump, "you" people need to pay your fair share, I want a new Jeep, get the fvck away from me you say mean things that hurt".
"YOU" People..... (we file joint tax return). There's a reason the old time farmers kept a small pen of hungry hogs in the back yard.
15 years later, and now that she has been reverted to being the Karen clone of our youngest crack whore daughter, it's all "I hate Trump, "you" people need to pay your fair share, I want a new Jeep, get the fvck away from me you say mean things that hurt".
"YOU" People..... (we file joint tax return). There's a reason the old time farmers kept a small pen of hungry hogs in the back yard.
It’s quite simple. That kind of salary is unconscionable on the public dime.
I thought you were a small government conservative? Or do you just long to be tucked under the wing of daddy government?
Taxpayers should never foot that kind of salary. Ever.
Once again, I was correcting the amount in a post, and how many times do I have to say that I'm not paid by the taxpayers in my civilian job? Of course, my military retirement is, but it's not close to that amount. It's not terrible, but it doesn't make me close to rich on its own - and someone like you couldn't have handled the 26 years I spent in the military to earn that retirement pay. I happen to know that the max salary for government workers is around $204K, by law. It's public and can be found with a simple search. Good luck finding someone for those particular jobs for any less than that. They're lucky to do it now because someone in those particular jobs would make two to three times more for the equivalent private sector job. These people most often do it because they want to serve their country and make a difference, but there are limits. Like it or not, the government must compete with the private sector for talented people to fill important jobs. And yes, they do pay me very well for my non-taxpayer funded job.
I'm a conservative that feels we should have only the government we need and that we should pay for it and not do it with deficit spending. I don't think you have a clue what "small" means when you spout the words "small government conservative." You've been a dumb poster for a long time and that doesn't change with each of your new handles.
Sounds like you may be grossly overpaid.
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Part of working in government is the sense most people feel that their work is invaluable.
They’re basically all wrong. Maybe other than the guys that landed in Normandy,
People are invaluable. Government and the work they do serves mostly to degrade people and their liberties.
Not true. My dad is ROTC, 8 year marine, 23 year coast guard reserve.
I grew up on the government dole. Breeds mediocrity, like myself.
I'll give you a
for your self-deprecation, but two things. Being in the military or in a military family does not equal being on the government dole, and if you're a mediocrity, you sure as heck can't blame that on your father's military service.He was an intel officer during peace time. Didn’t do much in the way of killing.I'll give you a
Although he did have some interesting stories working for Ollie North in Nicaragua. Coordinated land, air and sea drops from Scott air Force Base after 9/11.
I’ll tell you what Aloha. Reservists don’t get the credit that they are due.
Modern day minute men that will drop everything and go serve.
He contributed to our national security. I salute him and his service.
I think this should also show medicare and payroll (social security) taxes paid for a complete picture. Then deduct earned income tax credits. The Top 10% will still pay 50%, but it would be more representative of the net tax rates.
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It’s wasteful misuse that is ’theft’. Now confiscation of wealth… to fund transfer payments … is fairly described as theft.
