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I guess high or low is relative according to your perspective. If they are 40% with minimal gov waste, minimal debt and systems are not being abused then I would say taxes are fair.
If the Fed is spending money like a drunken sailor, burying the nation in debt then no matter what the taxes are they are too high.
If taxes are raised for the purpose of wealth redistribution they are always wrong.
I won't speak for the countries mentioned in the OP other than to say each and every one of them have lived under the umbrella of US generosity.
Lol! Well, by all means, why don't you point out examples of American generosity towards Canada?
We're the ones who rush in every time you have a natural disaster. We're the ones who rescue your hostages, have your backs iwhen you're in a war and bring your atronauts back down to earth. We're the ones restoring your power lines to get your electricity back and we're the ones who lend you money. What have you done for us?
And don't say military defense. You're doing that for YOU, not us.
Top tax rate and applicable income level:
USA: 39.6%, $400K USD
Australia: 45%, $180,001 AUD
UK: 50%, £150,000 Brit. Pound
Germany: 42%, €52,882 - €250,730; 45%, €250,731 Euro
Belgium: 53.5%, €37,330 Euro
Italy: 43%, €75,001
Canada: 29%, $135,000 plus about 14% in provincial taxes. Canadian income tax rates for Individuals - current and previous years
What does that have to do with anything? How are the taxes in other countries relevant to our taxes? That's immature little kid reasoning. "Johnny has an Xbox so I want one too"
The constitution provides for what powers the federal government has and provides for taxation to fund the exercise of those powers. But our federal government has over 1,300 separate agencies employing almost 3 million people. That is out of control. Our taxes are too high because those taxes are going to fund agencies that the federal government is not allowed under our constitution.
What the taxes are in other countries has absolutely nothing to do with it. If that's the level of reasoning liberals engage in, it's a wonder you all get elected to anything more than city dog catcher.
The real question, to me, is at what point have we become slaves?
Your labor is ALL you have to sell. All discussion should BEGIN with the assumption that your earnings are yours. And yes there is a price of admission for living in America, and for living in your state and your local community.
But at what point are you a slave, where the fruit of your labor is taken from you?
30%? 40%? 50%? More?
Because taxpayers shelled out multiple millions of dollars for a broken website, like healthcare.gov, which will cost even more to fix. And that is just the start of the newest government TAX labeled Obamacare.
We have a high tax burden and others do not because the government spends our tax dollars trying to police the world, and others do not. Second, I do not need the government to sink my pay into an unstable programs for my benefit.
So you would rather live in an undeveloped country? I could live in Russia as my mom is from there, but I choose to live in the USA and pay higher taxes because it is safer, more stable, and cheaper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoniDanko
There's nothing safe or stable about what our "civilized country" is doing... 16 trill in dept and counting should tell you that much..
You can't complain about our debt and then complain about taxes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoniDanko
Most do and whether it's a state issue or not, it's still a tax issue. You asked "why do people think our taxes are too high", and then you want to discount certain taxes that people have to pay which contributes to why they think their taxes are to high as a way to further your argument.
Most places have a property tax because mot people want government services. However, I am discounting property taxes, sales taxes, and state income taxes because other countries have those as well and at higher rates than us. Furthermore, you could choose to live in a place with no or low property taxes if you are willing to give up government services.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoniDanko
What difference does it make what the taxes that are taken out our used for? We still pay too much taxes regardless of what the taxes that are taken are used for.
It matters because you could choose to live in a place that has virtually no property taxes, but you will have to say goodbye to all the services you like, and maybe you don't like city services, but you could choose to live without police, fire, schools, indoor plumbing, and county hospitals. Most people want services though.
Even the highest earners are paying less today than they have historically.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoniDanko
You completely missed the point... It was an example that had nothing to do with murder rates.. Your whole premise is that, because there are other countries may have higher rates, we should except our high rates. The analogy that I posted about was meant to show how idiotic that premise is.
No, my point is that we aren't a high tax country so it doesn't make sense for people to try and say we are.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoniDanko
To respond to this anyway, higher taxed places may have lower murder rates because there are more hard working people to tax. In the areas of this country that have the most law enforcement presence and "court services" are filled with people who do not typically pay any taxes, so that whole argument is pure bs... High taxes does not make the murder rate go down... More people at work who get to keep more of their money makes the crime rate go down.
I don't think the tax rate causes low or high homicide rates, but government services - which can be reflected in the tax rate - can influence homicide rates.
All those embedded taxes are used for things that the public uses. There are plenty of indirect things that also benefit your life that still cost something.
That is true.
But there is far too much waste in the current system.
There is this thing, called administration, that logically would decline with the invention of the computer, but it seems to increase every year...
We could get the same level of service, and it could cost less. It's called efficiency, something government has forgotten...
It just doesn't make any sense for people to say our taxes are too high when they aren't. Compared to Africa we have high taxes, but compared to Australia or Germany we aren't a high tax country. If you compare us to Canada we are a high tax country for lower earners and corporations, but a low tax country for the wealthy individuals.
"Compared to.. compared to... compared to..."
Enough!
Making a comparison between nations based only on a single metric such as income tax rate and then declaring that you have factual advantage in the discussion is idiocy. That kind of comparison is akin to comparing a rock and a bottle of water, and then claiming that because people need water, the bottle of water is better. It might be for nourishing you, but the rock wins if you want a better weapon, or door stop, or paper weight, etc.
America has and should have lower taxes because we're a different country with a different system of government and different ideals about how one should live their life. Enough with the direct comparisons based only on income tax. You can certainly include the tax rate in a discussion and still debate intelligently, but a single thing like the income tax rate can't be the foundation of your position when comparing countries and claiming that one is better than another.
The real question, to me, is at what point have we become slaves?
Your labor is ALL you have to sell. All discussion should BEGIN with the assumption that your earnings are yours. And yes there is a price of admission for living in America, and for living in your state and your local community.
But at what point are you a slave, where the fruit of your labor is taken from you?
30%? 40%? 50%? More?
That is the right question!
Exactly. The definition of slavery is that you don't own your labor, the fruits of your labor goes to others, others benefit financially from the work you do, while you do not.
Our tax system is very much like slavery, our labor is confiscated from us, and those who choose not to work reap all the benefit.
The average taxpayer has not only Federal Income Tax, but Medicare taxes, Social Security taxes, State and local taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, vehicle registration fees, and many many hidden taxes to pay and they're all getting absurd.
It would be fair to tax everyone at one rate, and tax all government handouts like WIC, food stamps and welfare checks so that everyone is in this together. If taxes go up, EVERYONE should be affected, not just the fewer and fewer of us.
Because taxpayers shelled out multiple millions of dollars for a broken website, like healthcare.gov, which will cost even more to fix. And that is just the start of the newest government TAX labeled Obamacare.
Actually it's not. It started over five years ago when the age at which parents were expected to keep their children insured jumped from 18 to 26 if they had no other coverage and regardless of their marital status. That was nothing less than a stealth tax. Another promise broken!
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