Fact check: Are rich taxed less than secretaries?

[halik]

No. Raising capgains just discourages investment. Why would I do dividend re-investment if it was taxed as income? I'd just take the money as "income" instead of re-investing it. Why can't liberals understand this very simple fact?

Presumably because you're trying to grow that asset, rather than live off it? Going from x*0.85 vs x*0.75 with x being your return will certainly not induce you to consume all of it.

Marginal changes in taxes will impact investment ordinary speaking (ie tax exempt bonds will get more/less popular etc), but certainly won't discourage investment overall.

It's not like you get better utility blowing it all in vegas, now that you have to pay 5% more capital gains.

 

[halik]

So do they pay you per post count or per hour regardless of post count? I mean you sure do post a lot for someone who claims to work hard for his money.

It's consulting - he bills $250/hr, which is different than his take-home.

 

[spidey07]

I'd rather pay the mortgage off than worry about a interest write off if your end goal is to maximize your money.

If the end goal is to maximize your net worth, you'd be a fool to pay off the mortgage early with rates this low. Go google some calculators, you end up with significantly more money by maxing out your mortgage at these rates over the long term.

 

[halik]

If the end goal is to maximize your net worth, you'd be a fool to pay off the mortgage early with rates this low. Go google some calculators, you end up with significantly more money by maxing out your mortgage at these rates over the long term.

This. On average your 401K will yield more (presumably you're young-ish) than then the ~3% aftertax cost of financing a primary residence.

 

[umbrella39]

What on earth are you talking about? My wages are directly impacted by obama's plans since he's also seeking to take away my mortgage and charity deductions. I've been a network architect for some 20 years, my bill rate is 250/hr - you do the math.

I will have to give you this, when you go grandiose... you go all out! You are the king of reinvention!

 

[Budmantom]

What about the rich that are closely associated with the White House?

 

[alkemyst]

If that's true, why don't we just "fix" the capital gains tax rate and be done with it?

It's really not the capital gains rate that is the issue...it's the loopholes that let some of our biggest income earners apply it to their 'incomes'. Hedgefund and investment managers use this since most of their salary is commissions/bonuses driven off stock performance/gains.

Again this doesn't really fix much. I am so glad the statistic: "the top 10 percent of all income earners pay 70% of the income tax in our country". Most didn't believe that as a fact and that the top 10% pay maybe 5-10% of all the taxes collected (which in reality would be more fair).

The whole secretary claim has been debunked and was a terrible 'lie' in hopes to make that reality.

The fucked up thing is someone can say something absurd on the News or even post on a popular internet site and the next thing you know the ignorant run with it and by the next day it's a 'fact'.

 

[alkemyst]

Lulz, I've been at my current consulting company for 7 years. I love this little fantasy you guys have thinking I don't have a full time job. Not only is it full time, it's salary non-exempt which means I get juicy overtime as well.

I am curious to the benefits package and all that.

I am salaried, my time is billed out somewhere around $125-250 depending on job and esp type of job. I get a full-benefits pack with family health insurance about $50 a pay check (every two weeks)...dental/vision/50% match on 401k up to 5%, spot and quarterly bonus.

I am happy with my job, I don't get overtime; however, they don't expect me to be working more than 40-45 hours a week on average. Like this week I was done on Thursday at 41 hours + about 20 mins on the phone today for our weekly team conversation.

The next five weeks is going to be a bit rough with 1 week of travel, followed by two weeks (option to come back on the weekend but I am staying in Atlanta rather than fly back for one real day), then a week off and anoter 1 week of travel.

Bonus is this is all training and not only are they paying, but I get per diem plus all hotel, air and car costs covered. It's about $40k in training. All I had to do was sign that I'd pay back $7000 to the company should I quit my job in less than 12 months (being fired/laid off is "free" lolz).

All I have to say I know a lot of guys getting billed out at my rates or better and they aren't living the life I am. They are constantly 'broke' more or less; I am willing to bet they are closer to $50k than $100k, rather than the half million dollars a $250/hr job would pay out if you were keeping it all.