Should taxes be raised on the wealthiest people?

[Thales750]

I was thinking maybe we could move away from repeating ourselves about the merits of one party, over the other. And, have a conversation about a specific topic.
What do you think?

 

[AccessBlaster]

I was thinking maybe we could move away from repeating ourselves about the merits of one party, over the other. And, have a conversation about a specific topic.
What do you think?

This topic will still become politically driven because some people will argue to increase the "progressive tax" while others will argue for a "flat tax." I suspect it will fall along party lines with a few identifying as moderates. We've tried the progressive tax with no end in sight, it only gets more and more progressive as the title of this thread implies. "Should taxes be raised on the wealthiest people?" Maybe we should try something different, just saying.

 

[Mike Krailo]

That is a loaded question. Federal taxes? State taxes? Sales taxes? Raised from what current level? Taxes on unrealised investment gains? The worst kind of tax is the one where the government enables millons of non citizens to demand everything for absolutely nothing in return creating a burden on everyone regardless of status. The most insidious type of tax is inflation caused by printing money we don't have, again affecting everyone no matter the status.

It's like asking "Should a guitar player turn the bias level on their tube amp well beyond a safe level to get a really killer sound? If you don't mind destroying the tube amp every performance, then go right ahead. The guitar amp doesn't care if your wealthy or not, it will still have a very short lived existance if is pushed beyond its limits.

 

[Lightwave]

No we should not
I personally want less taxes which are simpler...

So I would go for lower income taxes at flat rates..

I would however max out capital gains tax on land and buildings UNLESS you actually build.. BUT this would be for everyone not just the wealthy.
I would have low capital gains on share ownership as well.. I have no problem with encouraging capital allocation liquidity.

I think there's good evidence that passive investment in land and property overflates housing which is counter productive especially for people getting started.

Earn money earn lots of money and keep that money but don't monopolise land and property with it..
Fine by me if you want max out VAT on luxuries we know from alcohol that people will still spend money on luxuries even with very high goods taxes.

I haven't figured out my position on inheritance tax yet.

 

[Steve R.]

Instead of raising taxes, how about reducing federal spending. As @Mike Krailo noted, this is a loaded question, Democrats want to tax more so that they can spend more. Moreover, our tax policies are simply a transference of wealth. Essentially "steal" from the "rich" to give "stolen" money to the "poor".

Alternatively, instead of having an income based tax rate, how about having a value added tax.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I'm a firm believer in the free enterprise system with some regulations related to waste management if that enterprise involve manufacturing, and similar regulations on other deleterious side-effects of a business. I must admit to having mixed emotions when the business is a doughnut or pastry shop. There, the deleterious side-effect is centered on my waistline. (We ALL have our selective weaknesses...)

More directly in answer to your topic question, I ALSO believe that we need to keep taxes low AND require both the state and federal governments to live within their means. Yes, trending towards balanced budgets all around. This would force government to do less, to maximize effect for the money they have. As welfare rolls start getting tight enough to require selectivity of grants and awards, it would eventually lead to forcing some real slackers to do more for themselves. This country was built on self-reliance. If you REALLY want to make America great again, return to a level of self-reliance.

The government that governs least governs best.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Flat taxes, tariffs on hostel actors, and drill baby drill.

Edit: Stop printing money.
There I solved the entire tax code, you are welcome

 

[Isaac]

I was thinking maybe we could move away from repeating ourselves about the merits of one party, over the other. And, have a conversation about a specific topic.
What do you think?

Sure. All people should pay the same percentage in my opinion. I've seen it work perfectly fine for a church tithe. 10% is the same pain to a poor person as 10% is to a wealthy person, hence the percent. No, taxes should not be raised on the wealthiest people - they already are.

 

[Thales750]

That is a loaded question. Federal taxes? State taxes? Sales taxes? Raised from what current level? Taxes on unrealised investment gains? The worst kind of tax is the one where the government enables millons of non citizens to demand everything for absolutely nothing in return creating a burden on everyone regardless of status. The most insidious type of tax is inflation caused by printing money we don't have, again affecting everyone no matter the status.

It's like asking "Should a guitar player turn the bias level on their tube amp well beyond a safe level to get a really killer sound? If you don't mind destroying the tube amp every performance, then go right ahead. The guitar amp doesn't care if your wealthy or not, it will still have a very short lived existance it is pushed beyond its limits.

Federal Taxes, you can easily move to another location,

 

[Thales750]

That is a loaded question. Federal taxes? State taxes? Sales taxes? Raised from what current level? Taxes on unrealised investment gains? The worst kind of tax is the one where the government enables millons of non citizens to demand everything for absolutely nothing in return creating a burden on everyone regardless of status. The most insidious type of tax is inflation caused by printing money we don't have, again affecting everyone no matter the status.

It's like asking "Should a guitar player turn the bias level on their tube amp well beyond a safe level to get a really killer sound? If you don't mind destroying the tube amp every performance, then go right ahead. The guitar amp doesn't care if your wealthy or not, it will still have a very short lived existance it is pushed beyond its limits.

Have you ever considered offering up an answer, for any point at all, that was not on the Atilla the Hun right side of things?

 

[Thales750]

This topic will still become politically driven because some people will argue to increase the "progressive tax" while others will argue for a "flat tax." I suspect it will fall along party lines with a few identifying as moderates. We've tried the progressive tax with no end in sight, it only gets more and more progressive as the title of this thread implies. "Should taxes be raised on the wealthiest people?" Maybe we should try something different, just saying.

The Flat tax thing is interesting. Have you ever noticed who the ones are, that are promoting it? if you are a middle class earner, how does it help you?

 

[Thales750]

Sure. All people should pay the same percentage in my opinion. I've seen it work perfectly fine for a church tithe. 10% is the same pain to a poor person as 10% is to a wealthy person, hence the percent. No, taxes should not be raised on the wealthiest people - they already are.

How does society benefit from a flat tax?

 

[Thales750]

Flat taxes, tariffs on hostel actors, and drill baby drill.

Edit: Stop printing money.
There I solved the entire tax code, you are welcome

Glib, but not really useful.

 

[Thales750]

I'm a firm believer in the free enterprise system with some regulations related to waste management if that enterprise involve manufacturing, and similar regulations on other deleterious side-effects of a business. I must admit to having mixed emotions when the business is a doughnut or pastry shop. There, the deleterious side-effect is centered on my waistline. (We ALL have our selective weaknesses...)

More directly in answer to your topic question, I ALSO believe that we need to keep taxes low AND require both the state and federal governments to live within their means. Yes, trending towards balanced budgets all around. This would force government to do less, to maximize effect for the money they have. As welfare rolls start getting tight enough to require selectivity of grants and awards, it would eventually lead to forcing some real slackers to do more for themselves. This country was built on self-reliance. If you REALLY want to make America great again, return to a level of self-reliance.

The government that governs least governs best.

Have you ever tried to sort out and write down how you are coming to those conclusions?

 

[AccessBlaster]

The Flat tax thing is interesting. Have you ever noticed who the ones are, that are promoting it? if you are a middle class earner, how does it help you?

It simplifies the process obviously, it eliminates thousands of pages of gobbledygook in the current tax code. Second, if I know I owe 10% to the government it's easy math no third party is needed.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Glib, but not really useful.

They intentionally make it over complicated for a reason, can you guess the reason?

 

[Thales750]

Instead of raising taxes, how about reducing federal spending. As @Mike Krailo noted, this is a loaded question, Democrats want to tax more so that they can spend more. Moreover, our tax policies are simply a transference of wealth. Essentially "steal" from the "rich" to give "stolen" money to the "poor".

Alternatively, instead of having an income based tax rate, how about having a value added tax.

So how would that work, with the entirety of the wealth of the world in the hands of a few people?
How would the People benefit?

There is a long way from 20th-century socialism to taking us back to where the vast majority of the wealth was owned by the Crown. It was only after the Industrial Revolution that personal productivity would raise the standard of living for everyday people. That happened even in Communist Russia and Socialist Eastern Europe. It happened better in capitalist countries, to be sure. It was not solely a function of capitalism. Capitalism has existed in human society since the very beginning, and the middle class came into existence from industrial advancement.

 

[Thales750]

Alternatively, instead of having an income based tax rate, how about having a value added tax.

How would that work?

 

[Thales750]

No we should not
I personally want less taxes which are simpler...

So I would go for lower income taxes at flat rates..

I would however max out capital gains tax on land and buildings UNLESS you actually build.. BUT this would be for everyone not just the wealthy.
I would have low capital gains on share ownership as well.. I have no problem with encouraging capital allocation liquidity.

I think there's good evidence that passive investment in land and property overflates housing which is counter productive especially for people getting started.

Earn money earn lots of money and keep that money but don't monopolise land and property with it..
Fine by me if you want max out VAT on luxuries we know from alcohol that people will still spend money on luxuries even with very high goods taxes.

I haven't figured out my position on inheritance tax yet.

You have obviously thought this out.

 

[Thales750]

They intentionally make it over complicated for a reason, can you guess the reason?

I don't have to guess, wealthier organizations can spend money on accounting and legal teams because the scale of their savings is greater than the cost of those efforts.