Income Tax is fair?

[Ciscokid]

Is it just me, or should folks who make 50K pay a little income tax too? Why are nearly only half of Americans paying income tax? I don't make enough to buy vacation homes and yachts so I don't have the tax shelters to protect my money.

I imagine that this isn't a 'left' or 'right' issue, is it agree overall that the income tax system is deserving of some tweaking?

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax - Yahoo! Finance

 

[Buttercup]

Listen, 50k doesn't go as far as you think it might. Hell, even a 100k yearly income aint what it used to be.

Taxes are complicated and you need to realize the government DOES have your money for most of the year. You don't make any interest off the money they hang onto for months even if you get a refund. They turn a nice profit just from borrowing your cash without having to pay dividends.

As a small business owner, I definitely pay a large chunk of taxes. I will say I'd like to see some tweaking....but, more in my favor.

 

[tumbleweed41]

I would rather see a flat sales tax on non-essential items (This would exclude food, medicine, housing to a certain value, etc)
Those with more money spend more money, especially on non essential items.
Those who make less buy less, and focus mainly on the non-taxable essentials.
This would remove the 'tax bracket' problem where someone gets a raise and is moved to a higher bracket. If one gets a raise, and is able to buy more non-essentials, I doubt if they would complain.

 

[Walkntune]

I think we should do away with income tax and just tax on money spent. Make a certain amount that would be proportionate to what income tax is now. This would do away with people cheating on taxes also!

 

[Ciscokid]

Listen, 50k doesn't go as far as you think it might. Hell, even a 100k yearly income aint what it used to be.

Taxes are complicated and you need to realize the government DOES have your money for most of the year. You don't make any interest off the money they hang onto for months even if you get a refund. They turn a nice profit just from borrowing your cash without having to pay dividends.

As a small business owner, I definitely pay a large chunk of taxes. I will say I'd like to see some tweaking....but, more in my favor.

I'm just saying though, if you make 50K and you give X to the Fed but then later get X back [often times X + Y] you really aren't contributing. I don't expect much from those who only make 20K, but I don't think only half of Americans should be contributing.

 

[sandandfoam]

I reckon only poor people should pay tax.
Socialize losses and privatise profits. No proper healthcare or social services for those too lazy to get off their behinds and inherit some wealth, yes we need all the ordinary people to get screwed over and over to keep the banana republics going.
I am all for the free marketeers who want win only gambles and state aid to cover losses.
Rich people pay tax humph we're lucky they allow us the honour of picking up the bill.

 

[Buttercup]

I'm just saying though, if you make 50K and you give X to the Fed but then later get X back [often times X + Y] you really aren't contributing. I don't expect much from those who only make 20K, but I don't think only half of Americans should be contributing.

I have an appointment with my tax lady on Friday. I'll ask her how they get away with it.

 

[Falvlun]

Hm. $50,000 does seem a bit high to be exempted from taxes. I mean, it's not like they'd be taxed 40%. I'm sure the budget would be tight for a family of four, but taxes should be looked at more like a necessary expense than "the government's stealing my money".

 

[Wandered Off]

I like the idea of replacing the income tax with a VAT that excludes necessities. The collection infrastructure is already in place, and the savings from vastly streamlining the IRS (cutting out everything related to filing, auditing, enforcing, and interpreting convoluted income tax law) would be significant.

I think a VAT is in our future. Unfortunately, because of inability to control government spending, I suspect it will be in addition to, not instead of, the income tax.

 

[dust1n]

Is it just me, or should folks who make 50K pay a little income tax too? Why are nearly only half of Americans paying income tax? I don't make enough to buy vacation homes and yachts so I don't have the tax shelters to protect my money.

I imagine that this isn't a 'left' or 'right' issue, is it agree overall that the income tax system is deserving of some tweaking?

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax - Yahoo! Finance

Income tax fair? No, of course not.

Neither is inequality.

In fact, the majority of existence has very little to do with justice.

 

[tumbleweed41]

Reminds me of what I used to tell my kids....

Kid--"But Dad! That's not fair!!"
Me--"Where are you getting this crazy notion about things being fair? I need to talk to your teachers..."

 

[DallasApple]

You have to pay it..unless you can figure a way to get out of it..you have to pay ..

myredbook: youtube.com/watch?v=cKfpDDm8DtI

Love

Dallas

 

[DallasApple]

Sorry that was random..

Love

Dallas

 

[ChrisP]

ANARCHYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!

My feelings around tax and in particular income and goods and services tax (sales tax in the US) are that it's fine as long as I can see where it's going. i.e. show me total tax pool and how it is divided up ^_^.

Can someone who can work a calculator give me the odds of this ever happening?

 

[Wandered Off]

Can someone who can work a calculator give me the odds of this ever happening?

Mine doesn't have enough significant digits to the right of the decimal.

 

[Panda]

Does VAT exist in the states?

 

[Wandered Off]

Does VAT exist in the states?

Cities, counties, and states levy sales taxes, but there is no federal VAT at this time.

 

[Reverend Rick]

250,000 a year is not all that and a bag of chips any more even if you are in the top 5% of wage earners. Yes you should pay taxes, but not as much as millionaires do.

 

[Mathematician]

The most optimal form of taxation targets inelastic quantities of land where human beings can make wealth off of simply owning natural resources. If the revenues of such a tax are evenly distributed between everyone in the population, this fixes an imbalance between those who make money from land speculation and those who don't own any land. The only significant economic impact of such a tax is that it makes land more affordable by hindering landowners who don't put their possessions to use. This tax still requires a footnote: private parks would be put at a disadvantage. You could probably remedy this issue by exempting privately owned, publicly available not-for-profit sites.

License fees, pollution taxes, and severance taxes can also promote efficiency.

Progressive taxation schemes (whether explicitly intentional, like our current income tax, unintentional, or intentional but not precise) are generally better than regressive or flat taxes. The problem with our current tax structure is that it hits a bell curve. Those affected the most by taxes are the middle-class and small businesses.

 

[Reverend Rick]

The problem with our current tax structure is that it hits a bell curve. Those affected the most by taxes are the middle-class and small businesses.

I agree! You have to have a ton of money to keep a small business going. When you hit certain tax brackets, you work twice as hard for half the money. This is money you need to expand and create additional jobs with that you give the federal government which squanders it promptly. :yes: