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In reply to the discussion: BOO!!! - And Fucking BRAVO !!! - A Shit Of A WaPo Editorial, And One HELL Of A Response... [View all]7962
(11,841 posts)First, I did say there should be some sort of payment to offset taxes paid by the poor. And of course the rich may buy services, they also buy Ferraris and BMWs and paintings, etc etc, that cost a crapload of money ANd you're not understandting taxing the criminals. The tax is a sales tax. So when the drug dealer goes and buys HIS car or jewelry or whatever, he pays when he buys. Of course the criminals wouldnt collect taxes!! That WOULD be a dumb argument! Maybe theres a store just for criminals....
And I'm NOT saying to cut the taxes on the wealthy, I'm saying we need more than what we'd get from them.
If there are NO deductions for corporations, there is no need to have lawyers with regard to taxes. For what? How would you get out of paying 8% if there are NO DEDUCTIONS? Thats about what they're paying now, and if you raise it they'll just work harder to avoid it. The US corp rate, according to KPMG, is 40%. NOBODY pays it, so whats the point of having it? Here's an analogy that makes perfect sense: If you get caught speeding and it only costs you 5.00, are you really going to think about slowing down? But if you pay 200.00, you'll darn sure use that cruise control. It works the same with taxes. Tax planning is a big deal to those with a lot of money. A friend of mine is in commercial real estate. He's told me about how people will come to him looking for an investment property to roll over a profit. Its called a 1031 exchange. You pay no taxes if you do one of these. So he says you'd be surprised at the not-so-great deals that people will do just to NOT pay the tax. But when that rate was lowered, half of that business went away. Because it wasnt worth the hassle to avoid paying a lower amount. A tax is looked at as a penalty. If the penalty is high, people will avoid it. When the rate was 90%, NOBODY paid that because of deductions. Look where Google and others have their heads.
Here's how Google gets out of paying here:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/ireland-business-blog-with-lisa-ocarroll/2011/mar/24/google-ireland-tax-reasons-bermuda They base themselves in Ireland and Bermuda. Apple and Microsoft do the same thing. And what does the US get? Nothing from those profits. Sure they'll spend money to get out of a 40% bill. The rich, whether corps or individuals, WILL find a way out of a higher rate.
I simply want what I believe is the best way to get more revenue for the govt. without hurting the poor. Obviously we disagree on the best way to do that, but thats life!