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I referenced a portion of this article in another thread. What is odd is that the same people who complain that they are paying too much in taxes seem to be endorsing/enabling this transfer of wealth to the very top. Once it arrives into the hands of the wealthy they do not really spend it, they build fortunes that are often exempt from income tax and pass it on to their heirs to build even bigger fortunes. If we eliminate the estate tax, then watch out, this will really accelerate.
It strikes me as odd that the middle class is happy to see people with enormous wealth only pay LTCG, while they are paying income tax at much higher rates. Especially when this is unearned income. Personally, I benefit from LTCG and suspect many others here do as well. But, at one percenter levels, it is not just a slight reduction in effective taxation, it is an entirely different, somewhat evasive, tax strategy.
I referenced a portion of this article in another thread. What is odd is that the same people who complain that they are paying too much in taxes seem to be endorsing/enabling this transfer of wealth to the very top. Once it arrives into the hands of the wealthy they do not really spend it, they build fortunes that are often exempt from income tax and pass it on to their heirs to build even bigger fortunes. If we eliminate the estate tax, then watch out, this will really accelerate.
It strikes me as odd that the middle class is happy to see people with enormous wealth only pay LTCG, while they are paying income tax at much higher rates. Especially when this is unearned income. Personally, I benefit from LTCG and suspect many others here do as well. But, at one percenter levels, it is not just a slight reduction in effective taxation, it is an entirely different, somewhat evasive, tax strategy.
It's not really evasive because at one point it was taxed as ordinary income unless it was all inherited. If they are investing in companies they own a piece of that company, so the company is paying income taxes for them. If you owned a gas station should you have to pay taxes on the net income of the company and then pay taxes again as an individual owner of the company? If you work for the gas station you have to pay taxes on a reasonable wage, but you don't pay taxes twice on the income. I think 15-25% on qualified dividends and LTCGs is more than fair considering for most companies 25-35% is already being paid in corporate taxes.
The primary 'wealth' that most Americans ever have is their home equity. To access that 'wealth' you must refinance your home mortgage, which means paying interest on it. Before you can spend any of it, you are first paying interest on that money.
For most Americans, this is not a smart move. There are only a few specific circumstances where refinancing to access that money makes any sense.
Last edited by Submariner; 08-22-2017 at 09:27 AM..
Wealth does not sit in a box somewhere. Wealth is employed. Wealth is out their producing. You say that the wealthy are not spending money. What should they be spending it on? You say that the wealthy should be paying people more. The article talks about 10 million men that are not even working. Pay them more? The market is saying that we have a lot of people willing to work and not that many jobs. How do you pay people more when supply and demand state otherwise?
Wealthy spend money on opportunities to make more money. This opportunity is what creates jobs for others. Hoarding money is not something that the wealthy do. They know the value that a Dollar brings in. They expect their dollars to make them money. They want all their dollars working for them. These dollars are not sitting by the pool enjoying themselves. They are out there working. And when dollars work more people get jobs. That is just how things go.
ROTFL- You mean the rich *aren't* spending, and they are *hoarding*. Not sure who taught you how to write/spell
Everyone makes mistakes, although I'm amused by the imagery of the American elite riding horseback across the steppes of Central Asia, raiding small villages and hunting with falcons.
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