Do Americans have a different attitiude towards American companies nowadays? (Reagan, legal)

[nononsenseguy]

Originally Posted by KonaldDuth

What I'm saying is that it seems American businesses are contributing less to the general prosperity these days. They're becoming more profitable, but since they don't have to employ many people, the prosperity doesn't really trickle down

Same old Leftist diatribe and mantra. Elizabeth (you didn't built that) Warren, is that you?

[hakkarin]

Originally Posted by le roi

to generate revenue for the government, to pay for publicly owned goods and services.

This does not address my original question of why corporate taxes are wise thing compared to other smarter forms of taxation.

Originally Posted by le roi

Wealth is generated by the reallocation of existing resources into more productive arrangements.

Wealth is generated when pre-existing resources are used to create new resources. Like a farmer using the wealth he made from selling his food to create new farms to grow and sell even more food. That is wealth generation.

Originally Posted by le roi

Profit earned by a corporation is "owned" by its shareholders and managed by its executives. It is not "given back to the workers," unless the workers are fortunate enough to also be the owners.

Really? And then what do you called wages? Where do you think those come from? And have you ever heard about this thing called the income tax and capital gains tax? Because both of those things make sure corporate profits make their way to the public in one way or the other even when most of it goes to the elite first.

Originally Posted by le roi

If a corporation could eliminate all of its employees, it would do so.

And how would a corporation work without any employees?

Originally Posted by le roi

Of course what really matters in the modern system is the tax basis. The amount of income or profits that is taxable. And individual wage-earners find it very, very difficult to artificially decrease the amount they are taxed on. Corporations and share holders have a wide variety of ways to evade taxes, even when they are imposed. Firms are given a much wider leeway within the tax code to lower their taxable profits.

Then make the tax system more simple.

[le roi]

Originally Posted by hakkarin

This does not address my original question of why corporate taxes are wise thing compared to other smarter forms of taxation.

Your post didn't raise such a comparison. It simply asked why we have a corporate tax.

Really? And then what do you called wages?

In English please.

Where do you think those come from?

Wages are negotiated by workers as part of a compensation package from their employer.

Employers can be private sector, public sector, or nonprofit. They can be firms, individuals, governments, etc.

And have you ever heard about this thing called the income tax and capital gains tax?

I have, yes.

The Capital Gains tax is a form of income tax, much as earned income taxes are.

Because both of those things make sure corporate profits make their way to the public in one way or the other even when most of it goes to the elite first.

Capital gains taxes are assessed on selling ownership, not profits. If an owner doesn't sell then no tax is assessed.

Personal income tax is not a tax on a firm's profits. I don't know that this needs any further explanation.

And how would a corporation work without any employees?

One option is to hire contractors.

Another option is to buy robots.

Another option is to have a firm whose profits are derived from investments in other firms.

Then make the tax system more simple.

Unfortunately I'm not the dictator of America, I just live here.

[Tyster]

Originally Posted by KonaldDuth

What I'm saying is that it seems American businesses are contributing less to the general prosperity these days. They're becoming more profitable, but since they don't have to employ many people, the prosperity doesn't really trickle down

Buy stocks. It will 'trickle down' directly to you. Is there some other way you expected it to 'trickle down'?

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by triple8s

The only loyalty people have today is to themselves. Can't blame them. Salaries stagnate and people will leave one job for another if they can earn an extra $50 or get better benefits.

It's just the way the system evolved. I heard over in Sweden, it's hard to get hired, but once you are, the company treats you as a employee to keep.

Company loyalty does exist still. I worked at Xcel over the summer and a lot of the employees that started there stayed there. But it is a relationship that needs loyalty from both parties, both the company and the employees.

And by the very nature of a changing economy, not every company is able to keep it's employees for a career. Certain industries will always be laying off and hiring.

[whogo]

We have 5.1% unemployment, businesses must be employing workers.

[le roi]

Originally Posted by Tyster

Buy stocks. It will 'trickle down' directly to you. Is there some other way you expected it to 'trickle down'?

The phrase "trickle down" referred to an economic policy of corporate profit growth causing wage growth.

It has largely been a failure, as shown by the low wage growth of the 'trickle down' / supply-side era.

In hindsight, it is clear that this approach was primarily beneficial to executives and shareholders, and had minimal impact on wages.

[Casper in Dallas]

Originally Posted by KonaldDuth

Let's compare, for example, Ford 50 years ago versus Facebook today. Both are household names, a big part of American life in their respective eras. But ...

Ford
* employed literally millions of Americans at good wages
* made products that we enjoyed

Facebook
* employs less than 10,000 people
* makes a product that we're addicted to and hate to love
* CEO is much more rich than Henry Ford
* CEO always talks down Americans. He has privately laughed at how stupid we are for giving him all our information and he's always saying Americans are lazy workers and that we need more H1B Visa workers

Why compare Ford from 50 years ago instead of Ford today, oh wait..........never mind

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by le roi

And individual wage-earners find it very, very difficult to artificially decrease the amount they are taxed on. Corporations and share holders have a wide variety of ways to evade taxes, even when they are imposed. Firms are given a much wider leeway within the tax code to lower their taxable profits.

This is not true at all. There is a huge list of deductions for wage earners just like there is for corporations.

Here are some of the deductions people can take;


State and local income taxes or general sales tax
Prior year's state and local income tax you paid during the tax year
Disability insurance tax (some states)
Occupational taxes
Real estate tax (state, local or foreign).
Portion of condo and coop maintenance that includes real estate tax.
Personal property taxes based on value. This includes auto registration or licensing fees, but only the portion based on value, and only if charged on a yearly basis. Varies by state.
Interest You Paid
Mortgage interest
Late payment charge on mortgage payment
Mortgage prepayment penalties
Points on principal residence financing
Mortgage insurance premiums
Charitable contributions
Mileage to donate goods to charity or to perform charitable services.
Casualty and theft Losses
Investment expenses:
Fees for tax return preparation
Investment counsel and advisory fees
Certain legal fees
Safe deposit box rental
Interest on margin accounts

[Serious Conversation]

I think the "not so social" revolution is going to peter out at some point. These companies are creating products and services of dubious value at fantastic valuations.