Stop Coddling the Super-Rich

[uRabbit]

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich

A great article that really got me steaming over this country's so-called "representatives."

[photo]

The vast majority of us will agree. However, the term rich requires a clear definition. Taxing someone who makes $300,000 year at the same rate as someone making 3 million is slapping down achievement.

[krantcents]

Our tax system needs to be fixed, but it ia naive that the people in Congress will really do it impartially. There are too many lobbyists which through money wield a tremendous amount of influence. I feel they need to go to a respected third party to come up with ideas. such as tax professionals at a CPA firm. They are used to preparing those kinds of reports.
The next hurdle will be can Congress work together to actually solve the problem.

[uRabbit]

Originally Posted by krantcents

The next hurdle will be can Congress work together to actually solve the problem.

Yes, the can. But will they? The absolute answer - no. No one is putting fire under their asses. No one is telling them what they're doing wrong. We look to them for answers, instead of the other way around - the way it is supposed to be!

[photo]

The problem is that Congress is highly reluctant to raise taxes on those who gave them big bucks for their election campaigns.

Raising the taxes for corporations and billionaires is like biting the hand that feeds Congress.

[scotland]

A lot of people in Britain hate the way that the mega rich find ways of avoiding paying tax.
The superstar Bono has moved all his tax affairs to Holland in order to pay a lower rate of tax.

[photo]

Originally Posted by scotland

A lot of people in Britain hate the way that the mega rich find ways of avoiding paying tax.

What is the highest tax bracket in Britain?

[scotland]

Originally Posted by photo

What is the highest tax bracket in Britain?

Basic rate: 20% £0-£35,000
Higher rate: 40% £35,001-£150,000
Additional rate: 50% Over £150,000

[MonkeyMama]

I saw this piece and thought it was great. (I am a CPA).

I also agree with photo. Warren Buffet said taxes should be raised on those who make $1 mil + per year and more taxes on those who make $10 mil+. That is how it should be. (None of this tax the $250k income more - because believe me - those people pay more than their fair share!). Though that said, I don't think some of the proposed taxes on $250k+ income are that terrible. It's just that most tax proposals seem to be focus on the middle class and not the rich.

The truth is that the middle class gets the shaft, and the rich (including the big Corps) have Congress in their pockets. I respect Warren Buffet for calling it out as it is.

[creditcardfree]

Originally Posted by MonkeyMama

I respect Warren Buffet for calling it out as it is.

I do too. And it's not the first time he's said it. He's been saying it for years. Will the representatives listen though.

[riverwed070707]

I <3 WB! He's such a down-to-earth, practical man. He's genius and real all at the same time. A diamond in the rough for sure.

[photo]

Originally Posted by scotland

Basic rate: 20% £0-£35,000
Higher rate: 40% £35,001-£150,000
Additional rate: 50% Over £150,000

It's actually not quite as bad as I thought, but it this the total rate, or do you have other taxes (health care, for example) on top of that?

The US federal income tax bracket is only part of the picture. We also have individual state income tax, a separate tax for social security, and a separate tax for medicare.

[uRabbit]

Originally Posted by riverwed070707

I <3 WB! He's such a down-to-earth, practical man. He's genius and real all at the same time. A diamond in the rough for sure.

Except that he supported the Governator.

I cannot support any one politician/influencer. They all have their downfalls.

[uRabbit]

Letters to the Editor, in response to WB's take on things, can be found here.

Interesting comments. It's true - why doesn't Buffet and his buddies pay more in taxes? Just because everyone else is not? Nothing is stopping them. Another person says that if taxes for the rich were to go up, it would not make a dent. However, as we all know, every little bit helps. It adds up. Raise taxes for the rich, cut spending on wars, cut spending here, increase profit there... It all adds up. There is not a SINGLE source of resolution to this country's debt.

[riverwed070707]

Originally Posted by uRabbit

Except that he supported the Governator.

I cannot support any one politician/influencer. They all have their downfalls.

A difference of opinion does not = downfall. No one is going to agree 100% of the time with another being. I'm not defending Buffet but the fact that he supported someone you didn't hardly makes him less of a reputable public figure.

[bjl584]

Originally Posted by MonkeyMama

I saw this piece and thought it was great. (I am a CPA).

I also agree with photo. Warren Buffet said taxes should be raised on those who make $1 mil + per year and more taxes on those who make $10 mil+. That is how it should be. (None of this tax the $250k income more - because believe me - those people pay more than their fair share!). Though that said, I don't think some of the proposed taxes on $250k+ income are that terrible. It's just that most tax proposals seem to be focus on the middle class and not the rich.

The truth is that the middle class gets the shaft, and the rich (including the big Corps) have Congress in their pockets. I respect Warren Buffet for calling it out as it is.

I heard some interesting commentary on Bloomberg radio yesterday basically saying that if Warren Buffet wants to stroke a check to Uncle Sam more power to him. But he is missing the overall point that the Government is not going to take any additional revenue to pay down the national debt or to balance the budget. History shows that when the government receives more revenue, they expand government, increase spending, and go further into debt. Spending is political. Not economical. Elected officials spend based on what is good for them to get re-elected a few years down the road. Not what is good for the country 10, 20, or 30 years into the future.

Buffet made a powerful statement, but he did miss some points. And, he supported Obama in the last election. One of Obama's platforms is to raise taxes. Buffet may have been making a political statement of support rather than a statement as a sound businessman. But only he knows the answer to that.

[uRabbit]

Well said, bjl.

[MonkeyMama]

Originally Posted by bjl584

I heard some interesting commentary on Bloomberg radio yesterday basically saying that if Warren Buffet wants to stroke a check to Uncle Sam more power to him. But he is missing the overall point that the Government is not going to take any additional revenue to pay down the national debt or to balance the budget. History shows that when the government receives more revenue, they expand government, increase spending, and go further into debt. Spending is political. Not economical. Elected officials spend based on what is good for them to get re-elected a few years down the road. Not what is good for the country 10, 20, or 30 years into the future.

Buffet made a powerful statement, but he did miss some points. And, he supported Obama in the last election. One of Obama's platforms is to raise taxes. Buffet may have been making a political statement of support rather than a statement as a sound businessman. But only he knows the answer to that.

Actually, this comment and many of the comments on the original piece miss the point completely. Warren is not talking about raising taxes for the sake of raising taxes. He was speaking to the unfairness of the tax system. This is what I personally got out of the article and agreed with. The uber rich know they are getting off easy (tax cuts during last 2 decades) while the middle class shoulders the bulk of the tax burden.

Unfortunately, a big part of being re-elected is making the uber rich happy. This is why it is the way it is. Tax decisions are made for re-election just as much spending decisions are made for re-election purposes (no long term thinking).

While the government is busy *not raising taxes* this past decade, they instead have been raising income taxes on the middle class astronomically and stealthily by not indexing certain taxes to inflation. The biggies are AMT and social security income. The most well educated near-retiree I talk to on an average basis has no clue that they will pay taxes on their social security income (it's a stealth tax). AMT is a complete nightmare for the middle class. Only the people who have paid these taxes know about them. There just isn't enough outrage out there to spur any real reform.

OF course, keeping the tax code infinitely complex keeps the masses from being able to figure it out and complain about it.

[bjl584]

Buffet left our some very import information in his calculation of his tax rate. This has been pointed out before, but he keeps making the same argument despite his critics. His tax rate is closer to 50%, not the 17.4% that he claims. Politics anyone?

Warren Buffett's Very Strange Tax Argument - Forbes

[photo]

Originally Posted by MonkeyMama

OF course, keeping the tax code infinitely complex keeps the masses from being able to figure it out and complain about it.

That's it, exactly. I'm smart enough to make more than the average citizen yet not smart enough to figure out how to protect it from the IRS.

The middle class really does get screwed.

What is absurd is someone who gets a "tax refund" (earned income credit) yet never paid taxes. It isn't a refund, it's a mandatory gift from you and me.

Remember when the alternative minimum tax used to be for wealthy people? The wealthy have been redefined.