What is a fair tax rate?

Saigon

Gold Member
May 4, 2012
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Helsinki, Finland
OK, we'd all like to pay 0%, but what tax rates do you think would be fair - and sustainable?

For simplicity, I've broken it down here into these main categories:

Low income 20%
Middle income 27.5%
High income 35%

Corporate tax 30%

VAT 15%

Tax on dividends & shares 25%

Any other major tax categories needed?

My plan is to raise income for the state with a VAT, which will hit the shadow economy and mean even drug dealers are paying some tax.

With that extra income I can then trim corporate taxes.

Feel free to add more details in - I did this very quickly!
 
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Flat tax across the board...

It's a nice idea...but it doen't actually work in practice. At least, not in a balanceed economy.

It has been popular in the post-Soviet economies, because they lack a middle class and the flat tax serves the interests of the all-powerful aristocracy, but it would be disastrous in any western country.
 
10% --- no more


The fed gov't should be able to take care of ALL their business on 10%
 
Who cares???

10% is plenty of money to run the gov't and protect the people... Everything else is just poorly spent money. What does the gov't do better than the private sector?

Private education is cheaper
saving for retirement on your own pays better
Mail

the basic rule of thumb for any society is that if you really want it screwed up, put the gov't in charge.

TEN PERCENT --- your question is what is fair thats it 10%
 
Who cares???

10% is plenty of money to run the gov't and protect the people... Everything else is just poorly spent money. What does the gov't do better than the private sector?

Unfortunately no country in the world has ever been foolih enough to try the idea, and I think most of us undertand why not.

The US would be bankrupt within a month.
 
Who cares???

10% is plenty of money to run the gov't and protect the people... Everything else is just poorly spent money. What does the gov't do better than the private sector?

Unfortunately no country in the world has ever been foolih enough to try the idea, and I think most of us undertand why not.

The US would be bankrupt within a month.

ummm, not if they quit wasting money by the barrell. cut spending...

I'd even agree to 20% - 10% to run the gov't and 10% to pay off the debt --- of course, once the debt is paid off we would GET RID OF THE EXTRA 10%...
 
Obamanation -

The only way that would in any be feasible would be if either the military, healthcare, education or welfare systems were abandoned outright. Possibly more than one of those would need to be closed, I suspect.

I can imagine how great it would look on the TV news if we had eighty-year-old Grandmas and Autistic children starving in the streets because you wanted that second home in the Hamptons.
 
Government spending as a percentage of GDP is the same now as when Reagan was in office....23%. But since the financial crisis in 2008, revenues as a share of GDP have hit 60-year lows, coming in at around 15%. And yet the Republicans signed the Grover Norquist "tax pledge" not to raise taxes.
 
The Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest five percent of Americans cost the U.S. Treasury $11.6 million every hour, according to the National Priorities Project. Between 2001 and the current projected end of the Bush tax cut extension, tax cuts for the wealthiest 5 percent will cost the U.S. Treasury $1.184 trillion. If extended through 2021 as gop lawmakers propose, the total cost will exceed $3.2 trillion.
 
The 400 highest-earning taxpayers in the U.S. reported a record $105 billion in total adjusted gross income in 2006, but they paid just $18 billion in tax, new Internal Revenue Service figures show. That works out to an average federal income tax bite of 17%--the lowest rate paid by the richest 400 during the 15-year period covered by the IRS statistics.
 
The Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest five percent of Americans cost the U.S. Treasury $11.6 million every hour, according to the National Priorities Project. Between 2001 and the current projected end of the Bush tax cut extension, tax cuts for the wealthiest 5 percent will cost the U.S. Treasury $1.184 trillion. If extended through 2021 as gop lawmakers propose, the total cost will exceed $3.2 trillion.

That really is an absolutely staggering number. I just can't imagine why anyone thought that was sensible.
 
Flat tax across the board...

It's a nice idea...but it doen't actually work in practice. At least, not in a balanceed economy.

It has been popular in the post-Soviet economies, because they lack a middle class and the flat tax serves the interests of the all-powerful aristocracy, but it would be disastrous in any western country.
I disagree. 15%, or there about comes out of my check every week. I think that's fair for everybody. How much did Mitt pay? Obama?

No deductions. No I gave to charity... It's 15% and done.
 
Obamanation -

The only way that would in any be feasible would be if either the military, healthcare, education or welfare systems were abandoned outright. Possibly more than one of those would need to be closed, I suspect.

I can imagine how great it would look on the TV news if we had eighty-year-old Grandmas and Autistic children starving in the streets because you wanted that second home in the Hamptons.

Well, other that totally overstating the outcome --- You have some good ideas there...

You obviously have to keep the military -- that REALLY is a prime function of the federal gov't.

Healthcare isn't really a good gov't function at all. We pay for medicaire seperately that income tax --- get rid of gov't involvement in the rest of medicine.

again - every study shows that private education is both BETTER and CHEAPER --- we can come up with a method to get the gov't out of education too. It will take some time to complete the transfer - but we can get there!!

I really dont see how this is so confusining to you. Get the fed gov't out of our lives, if the states want to set up their own welfare let them...

If the states want to set up retirement --- let them.

10% is plenty of money to run the fed gov't.
 
10% --- no more


The fed gov't should be able to take care of ALL their business on 10%

I agree. Their spending increases all the time and we'd be better off with more jobs and more people wanting to work. We need more tax payers and if we could get those millions of people back to work and others in the labor force for the first time, 10% would be plenty for the government.

I think that when cuts have to be made, they should start with their own pay and benefits. The pensions for congress members is ridiculous. It was supposed to be an honor to serve your country, but along the way, they decided it should be a lucrative career with a cushy retirement plan. They've been very generous with themselves. They should also be forced to follow all laws they pass, especially health care. The fact that they exempted themselves tells you the health care reform bill was a giant piece of shit. It has more to do with transferring more power to them from the people than it does about health care. I feel sorry for those 70+, who will likely be denied most procedures. A panel has to approve everything and that is going to be a disaster in emergencies. I can't remember the name of the Dem who once said that old people have a duty to die. I think that sentiment is actually written into Obamacare.
 
Flat tax across the board...

It's a nice idea...but it doen't actually work in practice. At least, not in a balanceed economy.

It has been popular in the post-Soviet economies, because they lack a middle class and the flat tax serves the interests of the all-powerful aristocracy, but it would be disastrous in any western country.
I disagree. 15%, or there about comes out of my check every week. I think that's fair for everybody. How much did Mitt pay? Obama?

No deductions. No I gave to charity... It's 15% and done.


OK, you twisted my arm --- 15% --- but you have to pay the deficit back out of that ---and in a timely manor!


We have a deal?

Get rid of all the loop-holes and that 15% is gonna take you a lot further than you think...

Actually, when you look at effective tax rates over the last 75 years --- the gov't takes the same percentage of gdp regardless of the tax rates...
 
It's a nice idea...but it doen't actually work in practice. At least, not in a balanceed economy.

It has been popular in the post-Soviet economies, because they lack a middle class and the flat tax serves the interests of the all-powerful aristocracy, but it would be disastrous in any western country.
I disagree. 15%, or there about comes out of my check every week. I think that's fair for everybody. How much did Mitt pay? Obama?

No deductions. No I gave to charity... It's 15% and done.


OK, you twisted my arm --- 15% --- but you have to pay the deficit back out of that ---and in a timely manor!


We have a deal?
Works for me.

Get rid of all the loop-holes and that 15% is gonna take you a lot further than you think...
Yeah... And the tax breaks. Fuck the tax breaks. Fuck the subsidies. And fuck the Corporate tax.

Actually, when you look at effective tax rates over the last 75 years --- the gov't takes the same percentage of gdp regardless of the tax rates...
Yeah... It would be a good idea to start spending within it's means.
 

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