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Do the Rich Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes in the United States?

Do the Rich Pay Their Fair Share?

  • Yes

    Votes: 58 48.3%

  • No

    Votes: 62 51.7%
  • Total voters
    120
Catawba said:
If your income comes primarily from investments, as does Romneys, I pay a higher total tax rate on my income that do you. People like me subsidize your low rates.
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Was money that goes investments taxed as income taxes?

If yes, then did Romney pay more income taxes than you at that point?

If yes, there is nothing left to be said.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Nope. If people like my family can sit around at their expensive county club playing golf every day and not working can do this year after year then they are not paying enough.
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That doesn't even follow.
 
Henrin said:
Was money that goes investments taxed as income taxes?
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Under Reagan, yes, that's the whole point, we need to stop taxing unearned income less than earned income, so that a bus driver is not paying a higher total tax rate than a billionaire.
 
Catawba said:
The capital gains rate is half the rate of earned income and a wage earner is required to pay a pay-roll tax on their entire income, while the investor only has to pay payroll taxes on a small portion of their income.

Ask anyone in the working class, most are aware of this tax inequality. Hell, even Reagan saw this and increased the Capital gains tax rate equal to that of earned income. That is why Mr.-14%-tax-rate running for president is going to have a such hard row to hoe in November.
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So you can't.

So your goal is tax equality?
 
Catawba said:
Under Reagan, yes, that's the whole point, we need to stop taxing unearned income less than earned income, so that a bus driver is not paying a higher total tax rate than a billionaire.
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When it happened means nothing. Did the original "income" that went in get taxed is all that is important to my post. You have admitted the answer is yes, so this is over.
 
Catawba said:
Under Reagan, yes, that's the whole point, we need to stop taxing unearned income less than earned income, so that a bus driver is not paying a higher total tax rate than a billionaire.
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And why do we 'need' to?
 
ttwtt78640 said:
And yet two "regular" working citizens, at the same job, for the same hourly wage, working side by side SHOULD have different IRS tax bills because? To discuss "fair" taxation, one must first define "fair" taxation; is that NOT a single rate or percentage of each citizen's income, from ALL sources, after a reasonable but EQUAL "standard" deduction? When the family farmland is passed along, from father to son, just how much of that land should be ceded to the gov't in taxes?
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When small businesses are passed down, why is it "fair" to force the heirs to break them up and sell them in order to pay the tax? Why is it "fair" for that business's workers to lose their jobs?
 
Henrin said:
When it happened means nothing. Did the original "income" that went in get taxed is all that is important to my post. You have admitted the answer is yes, so this is over.
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You don't get taxed again on your original investment, only the untaxed earnings over your initial investment. Just like the earnings from my business, I get to deduct my business expenses, but I have to pay taxes on the money earned from my business investment.

Why should the rich get tax breaks on their investment earnings the rest of us do not get?
 
Aberration said:
And why do we 'need' to?
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In order to both address our deficit and make the tax system more fair. As Reagan said, so the bus driver is not paying a higher tax rate than millionaires.
 
Henrin said:
That doesn't even follow.
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Where did it lose you? Rich people sitting around all day not working while other people work multiple jobs and still don't make enough to support a family?

Seems pretty simple.
 
Catawba said:
You don't get taxed again on your original investment, only the untaxed earnings over your initial investment. Just like the earnings from my business, I get to deduct my business expenses, but I have to pay taxes on the money earned from my business investment.
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You misunderstand my very basic point which is that the income tax that joe blow is paying on his earning from his job the rich guy that you are complaining about had to pay as well.

Why should the rich get tax breaks on their investment earnings the rest of us do not get?
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It's not a tax break, but another tax on another set of income.
 
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Bodhisattva said:
Where did it lose you? Rich people sitting around all day not working while other people work multiple jobs and still don't make enough to support a family?

Seems pretty simple.
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It lost me on where that matters.
 
cpwill said:
When small businesses are passed down, why is it "fair" to force the heirs to break them up and sell them in order to pay the tax? Why is it "fair" for that business's workers to lose their jobs?
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Its also worth note that the tax you are referencing actually causes businesses to put off growth of their business to avoid the tax.
 
Catawba said:
Why should the rich get tax breaks on their investment earnings the rest of us do not get?
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Everyone gets a lower tax rate on investment earnings, not just the rich.
 
Republic Now! said:
Everyone gets a lower tax rate on investment earnings, not just the rich.
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Nope, small businesses can only deduct their business expenses, they have to pay full tax rates on their business earnings.
 
Henrin said:
It's not a tax break, but another tax on another set of income.
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How did that stop Reagan from taxing capital gains at the same tax rate as earned income?


A turd by any other name still stinks like ****.
 
TurtleDude said:
we subsidize the sloth and unproductively of the millions of pawns the dem party has created with its handouts, and we have thus increased deleterious behavior that hurts our nation while investment helps it
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Why bother when the Republicans do such a great job of putting people out of work?
 
ttwtt78640 said:
A big part of gov't spending is in entitlements; the politically "untouchable" areas of welfare (in all of its many forms) and the ever increasing aging population getting Social Security and Medicare benefits. If these two areas were "on the table" then spending cuts could be made to balance the federal budget. Increasing taxation alone has ZERO chance of achieving a budget balance.

Welfare link: Poverty and spending over the years - Federal Safety Net

Social Security Link: In 2011 The Baby Boomers Start To Turn 65: 16 Statistics About The Coming Retirement Crisis That Will Drop Your Jaw

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/45222.pdf
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If you're going to start lumping SSA into the same basket as welfare then you should add all FICA money into your Fed tax calculations and try again. Either SS is an investment for retirement, in which case it's NOT the same as welfare, or it's just another form of welfare and 95% of all Americans have a mandatory 7.45% of their income taken as Fed taxes - before income taxes are even considered. In that worldview, most people are paying a MUCH higher rate than most of the Top 5%.
 
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MoSurveyor said:
If you're going to start lumping SSA into the same basket as welfare then you should add all FICA money into your Fed tax calculations and try again. Either SS is an investment for retirement, in which case it's NOT the same as welfare, or it's just another form of welfare and 95% of all Americans have a mandatory 7.45% of their income taken as Fed taxes - before income taxes are even considered. In that worldview, most people are paying a MUCH higher rate than most of the Top 5%.
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SS is welfare. Its only called an investment by the government, when in truth there is nothing similar between the two.
 
Henrin said:
SS is welfare. Its only called an investment by the government, when in truth there is nothing similar between the two.
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Then FICA should be included in all discussions of Fed taxes. The poor are paying more than their "fair share" as a percent of income given that every one of them pay 7.45% of their paycheck with no deductions and no chance of refunds - and that's before any Fed income tax is included. The rich are skating ...
 
MoSurveyor said:
Then FICA should be included in all discussions of Fed taxes. The poor are paying more than their "fair share" as a percent of income given that every one of them pay 7.45% of their paycheck with no deductions and no chance of refunds - and that's before any Fed income tax is included. The rich are skating ...
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I will be sure to tell that to people I know that get back a few grand more than they pay.
 
Henrin said:
I will be sure to tell that to people I know that get back a few grand more than they pay.
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Did you include their FICA contributions in this theoretical "refund"? Thought not ... :roll:
 
MoSurveyor said:
Did you include their FICA contributions in this theoretical "refund"? Thought not ... :roll:
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That matters how when you are in the black?

What is your point anyway?

Because they pay into it that its not welfare? Lol?
 
Henrin said:
That matters how when you are in the black?
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If they get back $2k from income taxes (I presume you're talking about the EIC?) but loose $2.5k to FICA that's still paying out $500.

Henrin said:
What is your point anyway?

Because they pay into it that its not welfare? Lol?
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Are or will your IRA and 401k payouts be welfare?
 
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Dickieboy said:
You DO realize that eight and twelve do not exist on die at Vegas...right?
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Where did you read that I was talking about dice in those numbers? You connected two different paragraphs. You should note that a paragraph break and change sometimes indicates that the thought has been switched or changed. I was simply showing that what you labeled something did not change what it actually is. And it was wisely point out to you that the word dice refers to a plural meaning more than one.

Either way - you lose..... rolling snake eyes. ;)
 
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