They should only have a Flat Tax!

[olds]

Originally posted by: her209
Taxable income should be calculated on net income and not gross income.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

I pay sales tax on my brakes. Do the rich have to pay a special tax for them? Is it because they usually have a chauffeur who wears those brakes out?

:Q

So you're saying you can't afford brakes because the rich buys them for a higher price? I don't get it!

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: SoftwareDude

rich people pay lawyers and accounts so they dont have to pay taxes.

really rich people dont work so they dont have to pay income taxes.

Middle Class gets hit way to hard with the current tax systems.

You do realize that the upper income people pay the vast majority of the taxes right now, don't you?

In 2002 the latest year of available data, the top 5 percent of taxpayers paid more than one-half (53.8 percent) of all individual income taxes, but reported roughly one-third (30.6 percent) of income.

The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 33.7 percent of all individual income taxes in 2002. This group of taxpayers has paid more than 30 percent of individual income taxes since 1995. Moreover, since 1990 this group?s tax share has grown faster than their income share.

Taxpayers who rank in the top 50 percent of taxpayers by income pay virtually all individual income taxes. In all years since 1990, taxpayers in this group have paid over 94 percent of all individual income taxes. In 2000, 2001, and 2002, this group paid over 96 percent of the total.

Link
You were saying?

Edit: Oh yeah, and from the same link:

Treasury Department analysts credit President Bush's tax cuts with shifting a larger share of the individual income taxes paid to higher income taxpayers. In 2005, says the Treasury, when most of the tax cut provisions are fully in effect (e.g., lower tax rates, the $1,000 child credit, marriage penalty relief), the projected tax share for lower-income taxpayers will fall, while the tax share for higher-income taxpayers will rise.

So much for Bush giving the rich a break.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Regs

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

I pay sales tax on my brakes. Do the rich have to pay a special tax for them? Is it because they usually have a chauffeur who wears those brakes out?

:Q

So you're saying you can't afford brakes because the rich buys them for a higher price? I don't get it!

Brakes have always been a tool of the bourgeoisie anyway. The horn is the working man's weapon of choice when confronted with a red light, a deer in the road, or being cut off:thumbsup:

As far as taxes go...our current system is certainly complex and difficult to understand, but I don't think it's nearly as broken as people make it out to be. However, I also don't believe that we're sitting on the far end of the Laffer curve

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: SoftwareDude
if they have 1 flat tax that is only a sales tax that would be the most fair.

rich people pay lawyers and accounts so they dont have to pay taxes.

really rich people dont work so they dont have to pay income taxes.

Middle Class gets hit way to hard with the current tax systems.

Actually you're wrong. Sales taxes are the most abusive of lower classes. I used to think the way you do now, but after a number of economics and poli-sci courses I came around.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: newmachineoverlord
Sales taxes are naturally regressive, as they target people who need to purchase things to survive. They also have a chiling effect on the economy by directly raising prices. In order to shift the tax burden onto those who can afford it:

1. Increase income tax rates, but exempt the first $x of income from all income taxes, including fica/ss tax. x= enough money to survive and buy transportation to work and childcare in any major city. Exempting more money will give the economy a boost, as more people can afford to pay for services and buy products. By contrast, decreasing taxes for the richest 1% does nothing for the economy, since they already have plenty of money to spend on goods and services.

2. Eliminate all taxes on food not prepared for immediate consumption. Where I live they have taxes on food, that is regressive and oppressive.

3. Exempt mostly renewable fuels from the existing 18cent/gallon fuel tax, and increase taxes on nonrenewable fuels. This will target wasteful rich person activities such as motorboats etc. that nobody needs to survive. Most high fuel consumption activities and devices are luxuries, not necessities.

One of the main problems with this is cost of living. It varies so widely across the nation that no federally mandated number could be implemented. On a local level it's fine though.

 

[Stunt]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands

Originally posted by: SoftwareDude
if they have 1 flat tax that is only a sales tax that would be the most fair.

rich people pay lawyers and accounts so they dont have to pay taxes.

really rich people dont work so they dont have to pay income taxes.

Middle Class gets hit way to hard with the current tax systems.

Actually you're wrong. Sales taxes are the most abusive of lower classes. I used to think the way you do now, but after a number of economics and poli-sci courses I came around.

This is correct.
The rich don't buy as many consumer goods; they invest in businesses that generate income.

The only way a pure sales tax would work is if food/clothes/essentials are not taxed and capital gains/secondary incomes are taxed.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: SoftwareDude

rich people pay lawyers and accounts so they dont have to pay taxes.

really rich people dont work so they dont have to pay income taxes.

Middle Class gets hit way to hard with the current tax systems.

You do realize that the upper income people pay the vast majority of the taxes right now, don't you?

In 2002 the latest year of available data, the top 5 percent of taxpayers paid more than one-half (53.8 percent) of all individual income taxes, but reported roughly one-third (30.6 percent) of income.

The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 33.7 percent of all individual income taxes in 2002. This group of taxpayers has paid more than 30 percent of individual income taxes since 1995. Moreover, since 1990 this group?s tax share has grown faster than their income share.

Taxpayers who rank in the top 50 percent of taxpayers by income pay virtually all individual income taxes. In all years since 1990, taxpayers in this group have paid over 94 percent of all individual income taxes. In 2000, 2001, and 2002, this group paid over 96 percent of the total.

Link
You were saying?

Edit: Oh yeah, and from the same link:

Treasury Department analysts credit President Bush's tax cuts with shifting a larger share of the individual income taxes paid to higher income taxpayers. In 2005, says the Treasury, when most of the tax cut provisions are fully in effect (e.g., lower tax rates, the $1,000 child credit, marriage penalty relief), the projected tax share for lower-income taxpayers will fall, while the tax share for higher-income taxpayers will rise.

So much for Bush giving the rich a break.

While I know all you say is accurate, there is a fundamental principle that must be remembered:

There is a bottom line below which a human CAN NOT survive in modern society. No matter how 'unfarily' people at a higher income level believe they are being treated, that treatment cannot cause them to be forced onto the street, to starve to death, or to be unable to provide basic medical care. The same is not true for those at the bottom income levels (and, regardless of what many spout, income is NOT entirely within the control of the individual).

I'm not suggesting that the wealthy should support the poor, only that there must be a constant trade-off between equity and efficiency if a society is to survive.

 

[Howard]

er

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: her209
Taxable income should be calculated on net income and not gross income.

Agreed.