Tax Plan

[deepthunk]

I’m not running for office (yet) but here’s my tax plan, I would love to hear some feedback, both from the lobbyist reps, and the private citizens on the forum.

Personal income taxes stay as they are (including the Bush era tax cuts).

Not only do 66% or two thirds of corporations pay nothing in taxes, many (such as G.E. last year) get a tax benefit from the government. The way they do this is by hiding their domestic profits in over sea’s tax havens such as the Cayman islands, not only is this not illegal, its not even a secret. As you may recall there was a recent proposal to give corporations a tax holiday of 5.5% as an incentive to bring back their profits.

Here’s my plan, not only do we not give them a tax holiday; we outlaw the practice and require corporations pay every dime of the taxes they lawfully owe.

In the case of G.E., they made 14 billion dollars but reported zero income and therefore received a 3 billion dollar tax benefit last year.

First we take away that tax benefit, that’s 3 billion.

Now we charge them every penny of the 35% corporate tax rate, that’s 4.9 billion.

Hey! I just cut the budget nearly 8 billion and I didn’t have to cut any program or increase taxes on anyone (because 35% is the current corporate tax rate, they just don’t pay it), and that’s just one corporation. One building alone in the Cayman Islands house 19,000 corporations (on paper). In reality if we address this problem we wouldn’t have to charge them anywhere near the full 35% rate to balance the budget with a surplus.

I have a pretty good idea what I’m going to hear already, but I would still like to have some feedback. Opinions?

 

[deepthunk]

What? No one has anything to say? I’m disappointed, I at least expected some tea partiers to give birth to live kittens at the vary mention of making corporations pay taxes, but alas, only silence.

 

[TheDecepticon]

Sounds reasonable to me!

I'm tired of the uber-rich and corporations taking FULL advantage of the benefits that taxation funds but, not paying their fair share.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Sounds reasonable to me!

I'm tired of the uber-rich and corporations taking FULL advantage of the benefits that taxation funds but, not paying their fair share.

Business 101
Corporations never pay taxes...they pass on the costs to the consumer.
The merely serve as indirect tax collectors.

That's why Cain's idea to drop the 40-50% corporate taxes is brilliant...
it would reduce the costs of many products, and bring corporations and jobs back to this country (we'd have the lowest corporate taxes in the developed world).

The economy would soar.

 

[ba1614]

I just want know what the fuck the rules are going to be for the next few yrs so I can plan accordingly

 

[deepthunk]

Sounds reasonable to me!

I'm tired of the uber-rich and corporations taking FULL advantage of the benefits that taxation funds but, not paying their fair share.

Business 101
Corporations never pay taxes...they pass on the costs to the consumer.
The merely serve as indirect tax collectors.

That's why Cain's idea to drop the 40-50% corporate taxes is brilliant...
it would reduce the costs of many products, and bring corporations and jobs back to this country (we'd have the lowest corporate taxes in the developed world).

The economy would soar.

really? Here’s the problem with that theory (which I have heard before) in order to avoid paying taxes on said profits they’ve shifted them overseas, if said money is sitting over seas and not being used to fund business expenses or pay shareholders, then the cost has already been transferred to consumers as though they had paid 100% of the earnings in taxes.

So we might as well outlaw the practice and charge them the 35% rate, then they can transfer the 65% savings on to customers in the form of lower prices or shareholders in the form of dividends.

Of course the reality is that shareholders are the only ones who benefit. History has shown that companies do not lower prices or higher workers as a result of tax breaks

 

[deepthunk]

I just want know what the fuck the rules are going to be for the next few yrs so I can plan accordingly

ok, that is fair. Tax codes do change every year and that can make it hard to estimate what ones taxes will be over the future, but likewise rollercoaster gas prices resulting from deregulation of the industry in 1999 have made it impossible for business’s to estimate their fuel costs from year to year as well.

So perhaps both area’s should be addressed for the good of the economy.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Sounds reasonable to me!

I'm tired of the uber-rich and corporations taking FULL advantage of the benefits that taxation funds but, not paying their fair share.

Business 101
Corporations never pay taxes...they pass on the costs to the consumer.
The merely serve as indirect tax collectors.

That's why Cain's idea to drop the 40-50% corporate taxes is brilliant...
it would reduce the costs of many products, and bring corporations and jobs back to this country (we'd have the lowest corporate taxes in the developed world).

The economy would soar.

really? Here’s the problem with that theory (which I have heard before) in order to avoid paying taxes on said profits they’ve shifted them overseas, if said money is sitting over seas and not being used to fund business expenses or pay shareholders, then the cost has already been transferred to consumers as though they had paid 100% of the earnings in taxes.

So we might as well outlaw the practice and charge them the 35% rate, then they can transfer the 65% savings on to customers in the form of lower prices or shareholders in the form of dividends.

Of course the reality is that shareholders are the only ones who benefit. History has shown that companies do not lower prices or higher workers as a result of tax breaks

No....the shift is so they don't have to raise their prices here.

Drop the 40-50% corporate tax...and you reduce costs at every level of production and distribution, wholesale and retail.

If you believe in capitalism, every level now has that 30% cushion to lower prices and increase market share....

If you believe industry will collude, then government has a legitimate role in oversight at that point.

 

[deepthunk]

Business 101
Corporations never pay taxes...they pass on the costs to the consumer.
The merely serve as indirect tax collectors.

That's why Cain's idea to drop the 40-50% corporate taxes is brilliant...
it would reduce the costs of many products, and bring corporations and jobs back to this country (we'd have the lowest corporate taxes in the developed world).

The economy would soar.

really? Here’s the problem with that theory (which I have heard before) in order to avoid paying taxes on said profits they’ve shifted them overseas, if said money is sitting over seas and not being used to fund business expenses or pay shareholders, then the cost has already been transferred to consumers as though they had paid 100% of the earnings in taxes.

So we might as well outlaw the practice and charge them the 35% rate, then they can transfer the 65% savings on to customers in the form of lower prices or shareholders in the form of dividends.

Of course the reality is that shareholders are the only ones who benefit. History has shown that companies do not lower prices or higher workers as a result of tax breaks

No....the shift is so they don't have to raise their prices here.

Drop the 40-50% corporate tax...and you reduce costs at every level of production and distribution, wholesale and retail.

If you believe in capitalism, every level now has that 30% cushion to lower prices and increase market share....

If you believe industry will collude, then government has a legitimate role in oversight at that point.

But you keep forgetting that two thirds of these companies already pay nothing in taxes with the extra profits going primarily to the top 5% of earners, not to price reductions that would benefit the economy by increasing economic activity in the manner you describe.

It may be that we’ll have to agree to disagree on this issue as it doesn’t seem that either of us is likely to budge, however I respect your point of view and will give it further consideration. As with many difficult issues the optimum solution may be found in seeking a balance between the two viewpoints.