Someone explain taxes to me

[Orlong]

Good luck becoming a success without schools, roads, or basic infrastructure!

If thats all they spent taxes on plus defense that would be fine, but they waste trillions on other government programs, foreign aid, and welfare

[Canpinter]

How about the people who pay very little to no taxes get to use the roads very little or not at all. Im sick of paying more , just so they can pay less money. I can spend my own money better than the government or the lazy can

the poor still pay taxes, sales tax and payroll mainly. and given that they end up having to spend most of there income it becomes a much larger deal to them.

[Rhyseh]

How about the people who pay very little to no taxes get to use the roads very little or not at all. Im sick of paying more , just so they can pay less money. I can spend my own money better than the government or the lazy can

I have a brilliant idea to go along with this system of access to tax payer funded items. Let's pay everyone the same amount per hour they work! Surely the mechanic who works his arse off deserves as much money as the CEO who works his off. Then everyone's happy....

Sarcasm aside... Wealth distribution is not equal. Anyone who believes that the Rich just work harder than everyone else is kidding themselves. They don't work harder than Fred the plumber or Andy the Baker, the difference is that society has decided that the job they do is worth more.

[Paranoid Android]

How about the people who pay very little to no taxes get to use the roads very little or not at all. Im sick of paying more , just so they can pay less money. I can spend my own money better than the government or the lazy can

Wow!! Again the government does not work that way. Sorry if every person decided to spend their money their way for say a certain part of the road or police, then countries and governments would be in total chaos. Cmon that is simple logic.

I will agree government is wasteful sometimes in its spending and how/where it allocates resources. Again like past U.S. Presidential election Romney was railing against PBS who was like .

Furthermore, the budget benefits would be miniscule. The CPB’s two-year, $445 million government grant makes up less than 1/100th of a percent of a Federal Budget worth upwards of $3.5 trillion

. So instead of looking at our massive bloated military budget which fead our military industrial complex most politicians want to cut fat where there is no fat.


http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/20...-budget.-video

[fengosa]

The purpose of taxes is to generate revenue for government services not to redistribute wealth. Geez...

Try running an electoral campaign with that slogan and see how far it gets you. You shouldn't state your opinion as fact.

[Deleted]

Because tax buttfucks everybody.

[Spectral]

Because tax buttfucks everybody.

Spoken like someone that's never thought about what a society with no taxes would look like.

[Magpai]

Has anyone actually suggested getting rid of schools or roads or police? Or is that just the usual bullshit straw man?

[Charge me Doctor]

Your income increases but you lose more of what it should be as you are taxed more. A flat rate of tax for one and all is the only fair proposal, and it's not really what we see because again; "take more from the rich and all our troubles go away."

Well, according to http://taxfoundation.org/blog/2013-tax-brackets,
Assuming you are single and make 90.000$, after taxes you have 64.800$ to spend on your life.
And if you are single and make 200.000$, after taxes you have 134.000$ to spend.
If you are making more money, you are getting more money anyways

[Rhyseh]

This is the biggest load of bull in modern politics. The "poor", by any reasonable definition, pay nothing. ZERO. The rich pay a ton. Anyone who parrots this lie needs a reality check, or a lesson in integrity.

What? They pay Zero?

How about sales tax on the goods they purchase? Goods such as food, which is the same price for the wealthy mind you. How about fuel excises?

Income tax is not the only form of revenue the government posses.

For society to work you NEED the poor to exist. Not everyone can be a CEO. Indeed without the lower class the Rich wouldn't even exist.....

[Orlong]

This isn't uniformly true; people receiving the EITC may receive a larger refund than what they paid, receiving a net negative tax rate.

And thats what I think is total BULLSHIT. Its basically just giving free money they didnt earn. Which also covers any other taxes they probably paid like sales tax. And the more kids they spit out and cant afford the more money they get back that they didnt earn. We ought to eliminate the EITC and give them each a case of condoms

[Bloodninja]

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble but this country's greatest era was when the rich were taxed over 90%. Not saying it was because of it, but understand that they are being taxed much less than they were post-WW2, when America was the superpower.

[Spectral]

Has anyone actually suggested getting rid of schools or roads or police? Or is that just the usual bullshit straw man?

It's not so much the government service that the faux libertarians are complaining about, it's the paying for them.

[Orlong]

Sure, I pay around 30% while Mitt Romney pays around 15% (20% now that taxes have gone up) because his earnings are capital gains. And keep in mind that he can get tax credits for buying a private jet while I can't afford one.

And his 15% is still like 50 million dollars MORE than you pay so stop your bitchin

[Spectral]

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble but this country's greatest era was when the rich were taxed over 90%. Not saying it was because of it, but understand that they are being taxed much less than they were post-WW2, when America was the superpower.

This country's greatest era wasn't the 1950s, it's now. If you disagree, check with the black guys that couldn't eat a white only counters, the interracial couples that couldn't marry, the gay people that had to spend life in a closet, and the numerous other people whose lives were substantially harmed by social backwardness.

That's not even getting started on the generally shorter work hours and higher standard of living. The 1950s look like a giant piece of shit compared to the 2010s.

[Orlong]

The majority of the population? Well if your country was 60% right handed and 40% left handed and the right handed people passed a law that only left handed people had to pay tax I bet they'd all think it was fair. BAM! Majority!

---------- Post added 2013-02-05 at 02:47 AM ----------



You're right, it makes no sense at all. You can't say that spending money money on Alfa Romeos and caviar is not part of rich people's disposable income just because that's their car and food budget. They could live on less, they choose not to because they can afford to live the way they want.

I can't believe I'm actually having to explain this.

And the so called poor and hungry waste money on things like cable TV, cell phones, ipods and gadgets, take out food, and broadband internet that they could be spending on food to make at home as well so that they wont be hungry. There are very FEW people that are truly destitute, but we unnecessarily prop up a lot of people that could make it by dropping nonessential services and picking up a second job

[Bloodninja]

This country's greatest era wasn't the 1950s, it's now. If you disagree, check with the black guys that couldn't eat a white only counters, the interracial couples that couldn't marry, the gay people that had to spend life in a closet, and the numerous other people whose lives were substantially harmed by social backwardness.

That's not even getting started on the generally shorter work hours and higher standard of living. The 1950s look like a giant piece of shit compared to the 2010s.

I'm speaking strictly towards global economic hegemony. If you want to discuss the evolution of social inclusiveness I don't think a thread about taxes is the place to be.

[Orlong]

the poor still pay taxes, sales tax and payroll mainly. and given that they end up having to spend most of there income it becomes a much larger deal to them.

They dont pay any income tax. Sure it comes off their paycheck but they get it all back plus usually thousands more due to the damned EITC and that more than covers their sales taxes too, so no they dont pay taxes

---------- Post added 2013-02-04 at 10:31 PM ----------

I have a brilliant idea to go along with this system of access to tax payer funded items. Let's pay everyone the same amount per hour they work! Surely the mechanic who works his arse off deserves as much money as the CEO who works his off. Then everyone's happy....

Sarcasm aside... Wealth distribution is not equal. Anyone who believes that the Rich just work harder than everyone else is kidding themselves. They don't work harder than Fred the plumber or Andy the Baker, the difference is that society has decided that the job they do is worth more.

They may not work harder now that they are rich but the vast majority of them worked their ass off for 20 years or more to GET where they are now. Many people who start businesses work 80+ hour weeks for YEARS to be successful. Once they get there they should be able to enjoy the rewards their hard work gave them

[Bloodninja]

They dont pay any income tax. Sure it comes off their paycheck but they get it all back plus usually thousands more due to the damned EITC and that more than covers their sales taxes too, so no they dont pay taxes

If poor people were forced to pay income tax their contribution would be so minimal that it is barely even worth it. Economists would rather give them money through social programs and have them spend it on actual goods than taxes. That would be better for the economy.

[Orlong]

I will agree government is wasteful sometimes in its spending and how/where it allocates resources. Again like past U.S. Presidential election Romney was railing against PBS who was like . . So instead of looking at our massive bloated military budget which fead our military industrial complex most politicians want to cut fat where there is no fat.


http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/20...-budget.-video

But they say that about EVERY program people suggest eliminating. If they actually eliminated all those little .01% of budget projects would add up to big money. Its like the people that say Oh, there is a penny on the ground. Its not worth my time to pick it up, but if they picked up every penny they found they eventually add up to big bucks