Income Tax

[dondigitalia]

Income taxes make me and

I owed $3000 this year. All of the checks just cleared. My balance is hideously low.

It sickens me to know that my productivity is going to provide for welfare and medicare recipients across the country. I can't think of a single use I personally make of the taxes I pay. I don't recieve welfare. I don't recieve public health insurance. I don't collect social security (and will probably never be able to). I don't drive, so my use of the roads is minimal. It's disgusting.

Ok. I'm done.

[/rant]

[y_feldblum]

You breathe the air that the government is generously offering you. If you only knew how much your tax dollars worked to keep that air in existence....

[dondigitalia]

*chuckle*

not to mention the food they subsidize for me.

[AisA]

dondigitalia, I just finished my taxes so I am in the same frame of mind. The top 50% of wage earners are now paying 96% of all income taxes.

And if you want to see something really infuriating, see the post I made titled "Your Tax Dollars at Work" under Current Events.

[Invictus]

I'm sure that if the founding fathers were alive to see that American's were being forced to pay such exorbitant taxes they would be writing many an infuriated letter to the New York Times and Washington Post, perhaps even contemplating another revolution.

[AutoJC]

I'm sure that if the founding fathers were alive to see that American's were being forced to pay such exorbitant taxes they would be writing many an infuriated letter to the New York Times and Washington Post, perhaps even contemplating another revolution.

Actually, they'd write their congressmen

[dondigitalia]

Actually, they'd write their congressmen 

And it would be, oh, so effective.

[y_feldblum]

Well ... [insert pertaining counterfactual] ... we could elect them.

[slave]

I was in the same boat with the taxes. I worked overseas from 94-01, so I only had to pay about 10k per year. When I got back to the states, I worked for 15 months before quiting. At some point, I realized it was foolish to ever do anything for money (minus what it costs to live) unless it came as an effect of my goal or desire. That is actually a harder thing to learn than it sounds.

I like starting up power plants, and so I did my work while accepting the kickback to the IRS. If I didn't like my work, I would have been earning for the benefit of the government mostly. I would not be able to seperate my action from those that always scream to raise taxes. I would be giving the government the cash it needed to continue robbing me while not even enjoying what I was doing.

Now, I work in Thailand and can make up to 18k a year while paying nothing to the US. In Thailand, 18 k is a good money plus I have 2 houses and a restaurant there. I think I know how Henry David Thoreau felt when he went to jail for not paying one of his taxes. And I am doing legally

My wife and kid is Thai too, so I have sacrificed nothing but my winter clothes.

[Old Geezer]

94% of Businesses did not pay any taxes Last year

75 Billion of Tax Dollars are used as subsidies to do such things as Subsidize McDonald's Europeans Advertising.

if people are going to complain about inappropriate tax use, they might as well complain about all of them

[Richard_Halley]

94% huh... Yeah, I guess that would be about all the "small" businesses.

And, Geezer, I think that is one of the things that they are complaining about.

[Elle]

It really is astonishing. 20K this year for my parents (fortunately I'm paid under the table, except for my short stint at the one and only Mickie D's). Gah!

[Old Geezer]

94% huh... Yeah, I guess that would be about all the "small" businesses.

True, But it often includes many of the large ones. Ever Hear of Cisco, What about Microsoft? Certainly they should be paying some taxes???

And, Geezer, I think that is one of the things that they are complaining about.

I saw people specifically point out things like Medicare and other forms of Individual Welfare. I had not noticed the same gripes about forms of Business welfare. In my experience this is quite often not mentioned.

[AisA]

Why should Microsoft be paying taxes?

[dondigitalia]

Why should Microsoft be paying taxes?

Microsoft shouldn't be paying taxes.

And neither should I.

[erik]

I'm a Microsoft stockholder and they pay about 4 billion in taxes a year. Its on the stockholder report.

I'm an officer for a small business and our business had to pay $30,000 in taxes just to the Feds. That doesn't even count the city, county, franchise, don't screw with me local taxes that amount to another $20,000 a year. It makes more sense to NOT run your own business these days.

I, after trying really hard, got my personal taxes down to $400 this year ( plus $350 for my accountant ). I bought a new rental property and spent a lot fixing it up and have lots of interest to write-off right now. I highly recommend real-estate to help lower your tax burden.

Plus I have a 9.24% sales tax where I live that includes groceries. So I pay a huge chunk of what I make to the state in that way. Just so they can have socialized medicine, repave the same roads over and over, plant flowers on the highway, have the worst police force and school systems in the country, and on and on.

Then there is property taxes which also helps pay for crappy schools I will never use.

This is pissing me off I 'm going to go calm down for a minute.......

[Old Geezer]

Microsoft shouldn't be paying taxes.

Of course Microsoft should pay taxes if they expect the government to be able to afford the tremendous amount of law enforcement effort it takes to protect their property. Whether the Taxes are voluntary or not is a different issue. But since Taxes are the means by which our government is currently funded, it at least makes sense to apply the law equally.

[dondigitalia]

Of course Microsoft should pay taxes  if they expect the government to be able to afford the tremendous amount of law enforcement effort  it takes to  protect their property. Whether the Taxes are voluntary or not is a different issue. But since Taxes  are the means by which our government is currently funded, it at least makes sense to apply the law equally.

You are right. I will rephrase:

Microsoft should not be taxed on its profit.

[Old Geezer]

Microsoft should not be taxed on its profit.

By this I am somewhat confused. Can you elaborate?

[erik]

for 4 billion a year they could probably protect themselves just fine......

[Capitalism Forever]

By this I am somewhat confused. Can you elaborate?

The amount MS contributes to law enforcement should not depend on the amount of profit it makes.

(In fact, it shouldn't depend on anything other than MS's judgment, IOW it should be completely voluntary, IOW it should be a donation rather than a tax.)

[Richard_Halley]

I saw people specifically point out things like Medicare and other forms of Individual Welfare. I had not noticed the same gripes about forms of Business welfare. In my experience this is quite often not mentioned.

The fact that they did not mention it explicitly does not mean that they were not complaining about it... They were complaining about taxes altogether, how you divorce this from "Business Welfare" is beyond me.

[dondigitalia]

The amount MS contributes to law enforcement should not depend on the amount of profit it makes.

(In fact, it shouldn't depend on anything other than MS's judgment, IOW it should be completely voluntary, IOW it should be a donation rather than a tax.)

Thanks, RH.

Taxation of luxury items (cigarettes, marijuana [were it legal, as it should be], etc.) is also an acceptable form of voluntary taxation, IMO.

[Richard_Halley]

Taxation of luxury items (cigarettes, marijuana [were it legal, as it should be], etc.) is also an acceptable form of voluntary taxation, IMO.

Why? What justifies taxing "luxury" items and not regular items? Who decides what is "luxury" and what is not?

[erik]

I've heard the term "contract enforcement fee" used before. Like 1% on all transactions. That would pay for protection under the law. So if someone defrauds you you can then use the police and court systems to prosecute them and it would be paid for with the 1% contract fee. That would be easy to implement in the modern era too. Credit card companies take 2-4% of every transaction a merchant does for a similar purpose and they are rich, rich.

Anyone else have good MORAL ideas on how to raise money to finance gov't?