MatthewAycock
Matthew Ay****
A scary element of the recent election was related to the division of what classifies "rich". Unfortunately, both parties GREATLY missed the mark by focusing the debate on annual earnings, something that is both naive and archaic in nature.
With an income tax system that is progressive, we inhibit growth of individuals from one class to a higher class through taxation on earnings. We do this by labeling them as wealthy if they earn more than a certain dollar amount per year without regard to their actual net worth.
If we want a progressive tax system, it should be based, at least partially, on the net worth of the individual. Currently, someone worth $1 billion that earns $100k per year will pay less in taxes than someone worth -$200k (student loans perhaps) that earns $250k per year. This makes it very difficult for the one who assumed significant debt to be a success to become one.
I like the national sales tax concept, but only as a replacement. We already have too much taxation. If we had both a sales tax and an income tax, we would end up with only 1% of our earnings that we decide how to use.
With an income tax system that is progressive, we inhibit growth of individuals from one class to a higher class through taxation on earnings. We do this by labeling them as wealthy if they earn more than a certain dollar amount per year without regard to their actual net worth.
If we want a progressive tax system, it should be based, at least partially, on the net worth of the individual. Currently, someone worth $1 billion that earns $100k per year will pay less in taxes than someone worth -$200k (student loans perhaps) that earns $250k per year. This makes it very difficult for the one who assumed significant debt to be a success to become one.
I like the national sales tax concept, but only as a replacement. We already have too much taxation. If we had both a sales tax and an income tax, we would end up with only 1% of our earnings that we decide how to use.