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Old 04-18-2012, 10:40 AM
 
Location: Long Island, NY
19,792 posts, read 13,920,077 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano View Post
If Buffett were taxed at 50% he would still only pay a few million more than he did last year. He is massively wealthy, but doesn't have a lot of income (of any kind).
Buffett said that his federal tax bill was $6,938,744 and the rate paid was only 17.4%.

taxable income = $6,938,744 ÷ 0.174 = $39,877,839.08
Maybe you think that $40 million isn't a lot of income; not me. If Buffett were taxed at 50% he would pay an additional ~$13 million in tax. That's a lot more tax.

In 2007, the top 400 earners paid an average tax rate of 16.6% (the lowest since the IRS began tracking the 400 in 1992.)

The top 400 reported $137.9 billion in income; they paid $22.9 billion in federal income taxes. If they paid 50% instead of 16.6%, the government would have $46.05 billion more in revenue from just 400 taxpayers -- and those 400 would only have $69 billion left over. How would they get by?

Last edited by MTAtech; 04-18-2012 at 11:00 AM..
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Old 04-18-2012, 12:23 PM
 
Location: Fort Worth Texas
12,481 posts, read 10,206,647 times
Reputation: 2536
Quote:
Originally Posted by freemkt View Post
Please explain why a homeowner should be able to spend more and consume more than a renter while paying less tax than the renter.
I do not see how your question relates to the fair tax program.
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Old 04-18-2012, 12:31 PM
 
Location: Long Island, NY
19,792 posts, read 13,920,077 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wjtwet View Post
I do not see how your question relates to the fair tax program.
The question was directly related to tax fairness.
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Old 04-18-2012, 12:39 PM
 
Location: Fort Worth Texas
12,481 posts, read 10,206,647 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MTAtech View Post
The question was directly related to tax fairness.
since the fair tax which i support eliminates all deductions i do not see how it relates at all
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Old 04-18-2012, 12:48 PM
 
20,421 posts, read 12,341,203 times
Reputation: 10207
Quote:
Originally Posted by MTAtech View Post
Which economists and what did they say?

As for "the OP was talking about guys like Romney and Buffet (sic)," this is what Buffett himself said:

When the top 400 wealthiest Americans earn more than the bottom 150 million Americans, those top earners should pay more taxes and the evidence suggests that it won't harm the economy a bit.
Buffett is paying lip service to the liberals because he fears the masses.

He knows full well this will not add much more than a drop in the bucket but it makes knuckleheads on the left feel good about this billionair.

his money is safe. he doesnt have to worry one bit. you cant tax away what he already made....

but you can be manipulated into keeping any potential Buffett compeditors from rising up by taking their money from them...

and all the while, Buffett is hiding behind that giant wall around his house while he owes a few hundred million bucks right now that he is fighting the government over.


sucker
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Old 04-18-2012, 12:49 PM
 
Location: Long Island, NY
19,792 posts, read 13,920,077 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wjtwet View Post
since the fair tax which i support eliminates all deductions i do not see how it relates at all
Don't hijack the thread. The thread isn't about flat taxes such as the 'fair tax.'

The thread title is "Can someone explain to me again why it's fair for me to be taxed at 2x the rate of ppl earning 20-150x my annual income?"That's how I read that post about renters vs owners.
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Old 04-18-2012, 12:50 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
7,181 posts, read 4,747,145 times
Reputation: 4855
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beatles4evr View Post
It is quite evident that you either aren't paying attention or are trolling.

In case you don't know (I mean, really, don't know), your income is earned income, which is taxed at a higher rate than their income, which is from risky investments, which because of their risk, and to encourage investment, are taxed at a lower rate. Save your money, invest, and your profits too will be taxed at the lower rate - regardless of your income level.
They get to write off their losses. Some risk.
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Old 04-18-2012, 12:51 PM
 
Location: Fort Worth Texas
12,481 posts, read 10,206,647 times
Reputation: 2536
Quote:
Originally Posted by MTAtech View Post
Don't hijack the thread. The thread isn't about flat taxes such as the 'fair tax.'

The thread title is "Can someone explain to me again why it's fair for me to be taxed at 2x the rate of ppl earning 20-150x my annual income?"That's how I read that post about renters vs owners.
Have followed the thread . the fair tax would eliminate that problem . the TOS does not say you can not offer a solution as part of the thread.
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Old 04-18-2012, 12:53 PM
 
23,838 posts, read 23,084,400 times
Reputation: 9408
Quote:
Originally Posted by ambient View Post
This year, we hit the 33% marginal tax bracket - alternative minimum tax and all of that. We don't own a home or have kids, so we don't really get to deduct anything.

I'm grateful for our income, and I'm not fundamentally complaining about having to work hard for it and pay my fair share. I know that we're very fortunate.

But why is it fair for my personal share to be up to TWICE the rate of the fair share of people with gargantuan incomes like Romney and Buffett who will never have real financial worries again in their lives? We're doing well, but unlike those guys, we do depend heavily on our cash flow to generate our critical savings for future needs as well as to cover our day-to-day expenses. We get hurt by the loss of that marginal dollar A LOT more than the multi-millionaires and billionaires ever would be.

And why is it "class warfare" whenever I point this out? How is it not "class warfare" for me to be reamed porportionally so much more than the super rich - many of whose enterprises I also have to pay to bail out of their bad business decisions?

I'm not saying that the Buffett rule is the way to go, but why can't we have a tax system that institutes some sense of consistent fairness relative to income all the way across the income spectrum? Why is this concept so fundamentally controversial and anti-American for conservatives?
Who cares about your MARGINAL tax bracket. All that matters in a PROGRESSIVE TAX system is the EFFECTIVE tax rate that you pay. You did NOT pay 33% marginal tax on your income if you're smart. You only paid 33% on the LAST dollar you earned, if that.

More class warfare tripe from the very folks that fall for Barack Obama's every quip, every line, and every LIE.
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Old 04-18-2012, 01:09 PM
 
Location: Long Island, NY
19,792 posts, read 13,920,077 times
Reputation: 5661
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ferd View Post
Buffett is paying lip service to the liberals because he fears the masses.
No pun intended but that talking point is rich.

Buffett has said that he is so rich that he doesn't have to associate with anyone that he doesn't choose to -- which makes him so rich that he doesn't have to be afraid of anyone.

"Afraid of the masses." That's funny.

Did it ever occur to you that Buffett believes -- just as Gates believes, in higher taxes on the wealthy because it's the best thing for the nation?
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