SaxMan's Tax Plan: Exponential Tax Brackets

[saxman]

Some have proposed the idea of a maximum salary(Green Party), while others have proposed the idea of flat tax rates(Forbes, many others). I don't think either of these are appropriate.

SaxMan's Tax Plan: Exponential Tax Brackets
In order to empower the lower and middle classes, while at the same time allowing the rich to stay rich, I propose the idea of exponential tax brackets.

Low income people rely on every cent of money they earn. Middle income people generally have more 'cushioning'. As the amount of income increases, so does the amount of cushioning. The idea behind exponential tax brackets is to distribute the cushioning more fairly among all people. As you earn more and more money, a larger and larger percentage of your money is no longer needed in order to maintain a comfortable, even luxurious, lifestyle. Who really needs 200 million dollars? Or 1 billion dollars? Well, the generations of families who are stuck in slums need it. The people who live day to day, with no extra income to help them improve their lives.

It is my belief that the best ticket to a better life for all people is a good education. This includes education at all levels. From grade school all the way up to college, and beyond. Why not redistribute the extra cushioning and provide a good education for everybody?

 

[BigSmooth]

saxman = Karl Marx lite?

 

[Total Refected Power]

SAXMAN:

I hope your drunk.

 

[loogie]

My tax plan:

People named Vu don't have to pay taxes.

 

[yakko]

Your tax plan sucks. Why should I work my ass off to become sucessful just so I can pay for Joe the high school drop outs way through life? A national sales tax of one percent with no exemptions at all ever would generate more revenue for the government and also be fair to everyone. Every time soemthing is bought or sold one percent of the purchase price would go to Uncle Sam No exceptions. Local sales tax would be set up the same way.

 

[Napalm381]

Wow, even more redistribution of wealth! Congratulations on coming up with a proposal that is both economically and politically unviable.


<< Who really needs 200 million dollars? Or 1 billion dollars? >>

Do you even realize the difference between wealth and income???

 

[Schola]

That plan would suck saxman, no offense. I agree with yakko, why schould I work my butt off to make lots of money only to have the government take it and give it so some person who won't work for it.

Schola

 

[saxman]

<< ....to have the government take it and give it so some person who won't work for it. >>



Thats exactly why I think the money should go towards education. So that highschool dropout losers won't get the money unless they are willing to put at least some effort into it. And those that work hard, and want to succeed in life, will have a door opened for them.(Especially the lower class).

 

[ElFenix]

saxman's plan sucks because its way too radical. would create unemployment, disemployment, and tighten the screws down on most people. unless you plan on taxing the top 10 incomes in america, which wouldn't raise much money. the green thing is just a german idea that CEOs shouldn't get paid very much. yakko's plan sucks because its regressive as hell and would make recessions worse. flat tax would also be regressive unless you got rid of every other tax structure in the country. i doubt that all the other governments would want to give up that power.

 

[SpongeBob]

I like saxman's plan. then again I never plan on making $200 million a year and that could change things. I really liked the greens idea on a maximum salary, hell that's one of the reasons I voted for nader.

 

[yakko]

How is my plan regressive if there is no tax but the sales tax? Everyone pays the same thing on everything they buy.

SpongeBob,

If you like the idea of a maximum salary what would you do if you started a one man business that made 400 million dollars profit a year and the cap was 1 million a year? Who, what and where would the other 399 million go?

 

[SpongeBob]

Well I think the cap would have to be higher than 1 million, say maybe 50 million. One thing you could do though is allow the person to choose a non-profit organization for the rest to go to.

 

[yakko]

SpongeBob,

Why should he give away the money he worked for? There are always going to be people who make more than others. Deal with it. Don't punish someone for being better than you at something.

 

[Napalm381]

You realize nobody actually makes 50 million dollars a year...LOL. Go ahead, make the cap 50 million. That way it won't affect anybody

 

[SpongeBob]

You definitely make a good point yakko. I guess forcing someone to give away their money probably isn't the best thing to do. I'll have to give this some more thought.

 

[Shazam]

<< You realize nobody actually makes 50 million dollars a year... >>

Har har... your circle of people must be small...

 

[Napalm381]

<< Har har... your circle of people must be small... >>

Please provide ONE reference to somebody with an income of 50 million dollars a year (I am presuming that we are referring to yearly incomes in this discussion).

 

[Zucchini]

we already have a tax system that changes based on income. A flat tax would help the rich far more then the poor.

 

[fragarific]

Great plan Saxman! We already have it though. The people who earn the most money already give the highest percentage to the schools, highway and road systems, and police protection. Maybe it would be better for the lowest income people to pay nothing instead of 15%, maybe it wouldn't.

 

[ElFenix]

yakko - do you really believe that a wealthy person spends the same percentage of their income each year that a poor person does? if you have a percentage tax then thats a higher percentage burden for the lower income. thats a regressive tax.

 

[Napalm381]

<< Maybe it would be better for the lowest income people to pay nothing instead of 15%, maybe it wouldn't. >>

Between standard deductions and the EITC, many low income people do not pay any income taxes as it is. Yes, I know, many DO. But the effective tax rate on quite a few low income people is well below 15 percent.

 

[Emulex]

great new raise, great new tax bracket, less money.

screw that.

 

[erub]

A tax of 1% on all sales would not raise nearly enough revenue for the government. When I heard the idea of a national sales tax being tossed around, it was around 20% or so. This makes sense, as people who want to invest their money (i.e. help grow the economy) will not be taxed, and the consumers who buy stuff would be taxed. This would never go over, however.

 

[yakko]

ElFenix,

If a rich man and a poor man buy the same things they pay the same. If you don't want to pay more don't buy anything more than you need to live.


erub,

The reason they are talking 20% is because they want to give exemptions. If you give no exemptions to anyone the money is there. When a church buys something it is taxed. When a wholesaler buys something it is taxed. When I buy something it is taxed. No exemptions. Ever. At anytime. For anyone.

 

[Rio Rebel]

Saxman,

1. The question is not who needs a billion dollars. The question is whether you have the right to take it from him and redistribute it just because he has more than someone else. And the answer is NO.

2. If you think providing an education will eliminate sloth and laziness, you have certainly not witnessed the college experience.

3. You make the worst assumption of all when you leap from taking from the rich to assuming it will reach the poor. The only true beneficiaries of your plan are government employees.