Stuff like this only aids in deflecting attention from the real perpetrators on Wall Street, lack of regulatory oversight in the economy, widespread tax evasion and the general too-close-to-comfortness of industry and government in the US today.
Spiritworks said:I just do not understand why it is so impossible/untenable to institute a flat tax.
JohnRoberts said:Likewise corporate tax debate is equally confused. We have competing sets of statistics where one side argues that nominal rates are too high (among the highest), while the other side argues that corporate tar receipts are too low. Guess what, they are both right. The effective tax rates paid by large corporations, who can afford to lobby for their own tax deals, are much lower than small business, the true backbone of our economy who pay these high nominal rates. The fix is not to raise the nominal tax rates even higher, but to reset all these corporate tax breaks to flatten the tax code. This would allow us to collect more money, from a lower rate, and stimulate small business at the same time, the real job creation engine. We need to stop giving the likes of GE or GM special tax treatment, they are not part of the solution, small business is.
Likewise corporate tax debate is equally confused. We have competing sets of statistics where one side argues that nominal rates are too high (among the highest), while the other side argues that corporate tar receipts are too low. Guess what, they are both right. The effective tax rates paid by large corporations, who can afford to lobby for their own tax deals, are much lower than small business, the true backbone of our economy who pay these high nominal rates. The fix is not to raise the nominal tax rates even higher, but to reset all these corporate tax breaks to flatten the tax code. This would allow us to collect more money, from a lower rate, and stimulate small business at the same time, the real job creation engine. We need to stop giving the likes of GE or GM special tax treatment, they are not part of the solution, small business is.
living sounds said:Agreed. But they're the ones paying for campaigns, even more so thanks to the Koch brothers and the Roberts court. The US voting/campaign finance system needs to be updated significantly first before you can change the rest, I think.
As for taxes being complicated, I took tax law classes back at the university, and I think the statistics was that 70% of all literature on taxes worldwide is in German. So don't think the US is the worst in this regard.
JohnRoberts said:The simple fact that gaining high office is worth billions of dollars, to interest groups, since individuals don't have billions of dollars to spend, means quid pro quo is inevitable with either winner.
sodderboy said:JohnRoberts said:The simple fact that gaining high office is worth billions of dollars, to interest groups, since individuals don't have billions of dollars to spend, means quid pro quo is inevitable with either winner.
This is exactly why less government is the answer, not more. Whoever gains control turns the apparatus to protect themselves and theirs. More agencies, more taxes, more control, more regulations, more unionized government goons getting all deep, I mean deeper into everything is certainly not the answer.
Mike
. . . . infringement efforts on voter registration accross the GOP governed states, all the attacks on the social safety net may very well create an epic backlash.
Enter your email address to join: