Taxation and Income

Discussion in 'Politics Discussion' started by Jason76, Oct 31, 2015.

  1. ScooterBrandon

    ScooterBrandon Senior Investor

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    I hate the idea of income tax, taxing someone for creating wealth isn't a great idea. BUT I get that it pays for all sorts of wonderful first world amenities that I am privileged to have.
    I am much more pro-consumption tax.
    Can't comment on the US situation, but in Canada the wealthy shoulder the majority of the tax burden.
     
  2. Scooby Snack

    Scooby Snack Well-Known Member

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    Taxes actually didn't piss me off THAT much until last year, when I grossed six figures, and I saw just how much they take out. That was when some of my politics began to shift a bit, there was just something that felt unjust about it. If I could be assured that my taxes were going to something worthwhile, it wouldn't be such a huge deal, but as it stands we're still driving over decaying bridges and potholes, and there's no public option as far as health care is concerned. And what's the update on Social Security? Is that still a money sinkhole or is it actually worthwhile?
     
  3. turt

    turt Guest

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    If anything, the tax system hurts the lower middle class more than anyone which I think is really bad for the economy as it keeps less incentive for the poor to move up since the transition area makes them worse off than being poor.

    Right now, someone making $50,000 a year has to pay around 10% of their income for health insurance if their employer doesn't offer it, medicare tax, social security tax, (in my state - state income tax of almost 5% which goes away after 50,000+ plus the federal tax). When you earn a lot, the medicare, social security, state and health care cost go away.
     
  4. pwarbi

    pwarbi Senior Investor

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    Taxes are unfortunately a fact of life and if you earn an income, then you have to pay in order to pay back in to the system what you use and take out.

    While there's many arguments that people will have for raising the tax for some, lowering it for others, at the end of the day, your not going to get a system that everyone agrees with.
     
  5. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    See that is just plain wrong. The idea behind a progressive tax rate is so that those who earn more pay more. It kinda makes sense, as long as it's not overdone. But if there are certain taxes that disappear when you pay more then that's just nonesense.
     
  6. TheApollonian

    TheApollonian Well-Known Member

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    I think taxation should be socialized everywhere especially in liberal/democratic countries. Taxes should be based on your social class and how much you can pay. The rich should give more, the middle class-- just right and the working class-- a lot less. I've read that's not really the case in most countries that there's a flat tax and such, I'll have to look into it. The only reason citizens complain, I think is because they don't agree with how their money is being used by the government which in this case I think what we're really mad about is the lawmakers who make these injustices and not the actual amount of tax.
     
  7. JR Ewing

    JR Ewing Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Money goes where it is best treated. If you tax (or regulate) the job creators excessively, they will either most likely leave for greener pastures or otherwise shut down production. This is a fundamental reason why socialism/communism does not work.

    Governments should try spending and regulating less. The best social program you can provide a poor person is a job. Jobs are created by private businesses and investment. Many, if not most government jobs are unnecessary and are burdensome to the taxpayers.
     
  8. gracer

    gracer Senior Investor

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    While I am aware that taxes are meant to benefit citizens, I sometimes hate the idea of my hard-earned money having to be cut down first before I even receive it. I was the one who worked hard but when it comes to receiving my much deserved reward, someone else has already gotten their hands on my hard-earned money before I ever did. I don't have anything against taxes though, as long as I know that they really go to the right places where the majority of the people would benefit.
     
  9. briannagodess

    briannagodess Well-Known Member

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    Hmm.. This is a touchy issue. I do think that the richer people, in business or any moral way they have earned that money, have more money to give more tax. But for me, it's not their fault that they are rich, they worked hard for that and deserved that. Whereas, the lower class people, sometimes they're at that stage of their life where they just cannot have enough money for themselves, how much more for a tax?

    What one aspiring presidential candidate here suggests is that there should be no tax for minimum wage earners. And that I think, is really a nice law to be passed. Then for those above minimum wage, the tax should be progressively increasing but not too much as well.
     
  10. petesede

    petesede Guest

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    You can get up pretty high, around $40,000 per year before you have to pay any taxes. In the USA, almost 50% of people pay no federal taxes. It is why it is annoying when democrates call every tax cut ´a tax cut for the rich´... well yeah.. of course it is, because poor people don´t pay taxes, so you cannot cut their taxes.

    In the USA, the big problem is just the ease that an individual congressman can provide a loophole for a particular company or industry. All it takes is one congressman on the right committee and a few sentences get added to a 10,000 page bill and.... booom.. new tax loophole.

    On the Republican side, people need to stop this nonsense about American corporations have the highest tax rate in the world. It is stupid to even say it because NOBODY pays that rate. It doesn´t matter if we make the tax rate on corporation 95%, because they all have loopholes and ways to reduce it anyway. Some of the biggest companies in the USA pay nothing in taxes despite having ´the highest corporate tax rate in the world´. Any time you see a Republican use that expression, they are either idiots for believing it, or just trying to mislead you. The tax rates that corporations in the USA actually pay is in most cases lower than most of Europe and Japan.

    You see, this is the great thing about being a moderate and not a puppet to either party. I can see the BS from both sides. Tax-cuts for the rich and ´highest corporate tax rates in the world´ are both BS
     

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