Taxing the rich

mellowyellow

mellowyellow

Well-known Member
packer.jpg
Kerry Packer, once said
I am not evading tax in any way, shape or form. Of course I am minimising my tax. Anybody in this country who does not minimise his tax wants his head read.


Billionaires like Warren Buffett pay a lower tax rate than millions of Americans because federal taxes on investment income (unearned income) are lower than the taxes many Americans pay on salary and wage income (earned income).

Because Buffett gets a high percentage of his total income from investments, he pays a lower income tax rate than his secretary. Currently, the top statutory tax rate on investment income is just 23.8%, but it’s 43.4% on income from work.

https://americansfortaxfairness.org...-booklet/fact-sheet-taxing-wealthy-americans/
Can’t find a date on this article but it helps me understand a bit better as to why the rich don’t pay the same tax rate as ordinary people. And, by the way, it still stinks.
 

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Without getting into the larger discussion of who is rich, or who can take advantage of tax breaks.
The highest tax bracket is 37% for taxable income over $638,000. This is not the average working salary
 
Yes. It stinks. I assume you realize that Buffett and a number of his wealthy friends have complained about the tax code for a number of years. He has given nearly 40 billion dollars away in the past 20 years or so to charity. Bill Gates has also complained in a similar manner and of course, has his foundation with wife. I'm fans of theirs, so biased. They epitomize (arguably) the American Dream. Their philanthropy is immense (you may or may not agree with the programs they support).
 

retiredtraveler said:
Yes. It stinks. I assume you realize that Buffett and a number of his wealthy friends have complained about the tax code for a number of years. He has given nearly 40 billion dollars away in the past 20 years or so to charity. Bill Gates has also complained in a similar manner and of course, has his foundation with wife. I'm fans of theirs, so biased. They epitomize (arguably) the American Dream. Their philanthropy is immense (you may or may not agree with the programs they support).
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So generous, we have our own wonderful couple

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Andrew and Nicola Forrest founded Minderoo Foundation in 2001, and continue to drive its philanthropic mission today. Andrew remains Chairman of Fortescue Metals Group, the publicly listed company he founded in 2003, which is one of the world's main suppliers of iron ore. https://www.minderoo.org/
 
Kerry Packer was a cruel man and I suspect he was responsible for screwing up his son's life whose mental health has reached an all-time low. But one good thing his father did - in 1990 when he had a heart attack, he was resuscitated with a defibrillator. After recovering, Packer donated a large sum to the New South Wales Ambulance Service in order to fit all of its ambulances with portable defibrillators. Now we see them everywhere.
 
Bill Gates made a lot of his money by engaging in unethical, predatory business practices and crushed a lot of small software companies. He also stole ideas from creative people and because of the ubiquity of the Windows operating system, was able to dominate the market. While it's good that he's helping underdeveloped nations, I'd be more impressed if he helped our country.
 
It's called Income Tax. Those who earn the most pay the most.

Anything else is left wing socialist envy from lazy sods who don't see why they should work for a living.

For the record I wore coveralls at work and used a de-greasant on my hands at finish time, as did my father before me and as my son does now.
 
Not sure how the "rich" pay less since about half the folks here in the US don't pay any income tax, and many get a "refund" because of child credits, etc.

And this is a reminder that I need to start working on my own tax return.
 
Irwin said:
Bill Gates made a lot of his money by engaging in unethical, predatory business practices and crushed a lot of small software companies. He also stole ideas from creative people and because of the ubiquity of the Windows operating system, was able to dominate the market. While it's good that he's helping underdeveloped nations, I'd be more impressed if he helped our country.
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Yeah. I can't argue against that. I've read so many articles in the past about business practices. I can't determine how bad they were, how unethical, etc. But, yes, he's not 'squeaky clean' at the least, even though I'm still a fan.
 
The most fair and most simple - instead of income tax and a 6,500 page tax code, only a Federal Sales Tax. Every time something changes hands, it gets taxed. No exceptions. Same rate for all. No loopholes. No paperwork, no I.R.S, no tax attorneys or accountants. NO avoidance of paying your fair share because it's human nature. The more money you have, the more you spend. The only people who get breaks are the wealthy misers who enjoy their money by banking it instead of spending it.
 
I'm with you on all, Mellow.

Here is an excellent watch that covers wealth and taxes (among other things), and tells of how much more the poor pay in taxation compared to the rich.

 
Looks like some of you need to go back to school and take a course in Macro Economics 101, and learn about regressive taxes, flat taxes, and progressive taxes, etc. Want a flat tax? Great, but it will mean an increase in taxes for the 50% or so of Americans who currently pay zero fed tax. Want a national sales tax to replace income tax? Great, but sales taxes are known for being regressive, meaning poor people pay a larger % (not $$, percent) of their income because the folks with more money don't spend every last dime they get.

Here's some data to consider, or not if it will make you uncomfortable...

Taxes paid by the rich
 
Willy Sutton, the bank robber, was asked why he robbed banks, he answered, "That's were the money is". So they can either tax me, or some multi-billionaire. Guess where the money is. Yeah, if I were a billionaire, I'd be griping, too. We live in a time, when you can earn unlimited amounts of money. I believe higher taxes is just a cost of making that much wealth. Society gives, but society takes some back. And quite frankly, if you're giving billions away, why are you bitching about paying taxes.
 
I worked "on the tools", even as a boss, I never
expected somebody to do a job that I couldn't,
most times I had to show how it was done!

Our income tax, after a certain figure went up to
40%, I am not sure what the figure was now, maybe
between £25,000 and £35,000, anyway I paid 40%
tax for a long time and didn't complain, as I was
earning good money, I couldn't shave anything off
to get it cut as I was employed by a company.

When I was self-employed, I did use every trick in the
book to get the tax reduced and it was legal to do so.

Mike.
 
While people are complaining about getting over taxed, they forget that wealthy elites use foreign tax havens to shelter their resources. It is a fact that they have well over $30 trillion that go tax free. Reform the Tax Code and your annual tax bill will go downward considerably.
 
The rich pay taxes on their earnings. They pay a separate tax on their investment earnings and it's lower because their investments greatly benefit the economy.

If I had millions or billions of dollars it wouldn't sit in a bank while I lived off of it. Even when interest rates are low, that income alone is more than enough to live on if you're sitting on multi-millions. And even though investing earns you more money, investing is your best option - it helps the economy and provides jobs. If the rich were cripplingly taxed, they wouldn't want to invest, they'd all create Foundations and/or use any number of umbrellas that make their money untouchable.

I'm more in favor of complete transparency on government spending than going after rich people's money.
 


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