Do you pay your fair share of taxes?

1. 0

   JaxsonRaineposted 11 years ago

   How many years would it take you to pay as much into taxes as Mitt paid in 2011?
   
   Mitt paid $1.9 million.
   
   I would need over 350 years at my current rate. What about you?

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2. 78

   Shadesbreathposted 11 years ago

   Oh goody, the let's ask questions with answers that don't mean anything game! Here's mine:
   
   How much longer would it take a sparrow to fly from Seattle to Tuscon compared to a F-22 Raptor?

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   1. 0

      JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Except for the fact that it does mean something.
      
      Imagine a group of people decide to go to the movies. One person goes online and pays for all the tickets. What would a fair share be for everyone to pay him back? Fair would be if everyone paid the same.
      
      Now, let's say that everyone in a club wants to go to the movie, 300 people. One guy buys the tickets, but everyone else says 'you can clearly afford to pay for all of us, so paying for all the tickets is your fair share'. Would you agree that is fair?

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      1. 85

         psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Paying for roads and hospitals for the entire country is not exactly the same as buying a ticket for a seat only I will use.  Unless you think people who don;t have 10,000 bucks up front should just be allowed to bleed to death.  And I should never pay a cent for a road because I don't drive.

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         1. 0

            JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Right...
            
            Everyone goes to the movie, and everyone enjoys it. In one situation, everybody pays. In another situation, one person pays for everybody.
            
            Everyone uses roads, and the hospital, and other federal programs(the poor tend to use some more than the rich). In one situation, everybody pays. In another situation, one person pays for everybody.
            
            See the similarity?

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         2. 75

            Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            This is the reason I proposed that the infrastructure of our roads and bridges should be paid by those using the roads for commercial ventures.  Not driving, but using products that were transported on those roads.  Having business' pay for the roads means the costs will be distributed throughout the costs of the products, so everyone that takes advantage of goods transported on the highway systems will pay as much as those that drive on the roads for pleasure.

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      2. 78

         Shadesbreathposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I would say that is called a red herring in addition to being a completely horrific analogy.
         
         Taxation is about paying the government a cut of your earnings based on some formula decided upon (in theory) by the representative government. How much someone pays in actual volume SHOULD be meaningless. Those who work harder or smarter and earn more, will obviously pay higher dollar amounts than those who don't work hard or who don't work smart.
         
         I think the problem you are trying to get at with the misleading or perhaps just misconceived analogies is apparent in your use of the word "fair." So, rather than run us all off into the weeds with movie comparisons that don't line up in any way at all, why not have a conversation about flat tax vs. sliding scale, and perhaps figure out ways that we might simplify the tax code so that it isn't so easily manipulated by the rich and avoided by the poor. We could talk about abolishing income tax and having only sales tax for example, a different take on flat taxation perhaps? We could talk about inheritance and whether it is fair for someone who does work harder or smarter to leave money to children.  Etc.

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         1. 75

            Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Income tax should be abolished, it is unfair and immoral.  Using a federal sales tax would assure that everyone engaging in commercial activity would pay, even those that work "under the table" would be liable for a tax burden.  Taxes would be voluntary in this system, currently we have a state sanctioned extortion service.  Confiscating wealth earned through labor, time, and energy should have never been allowed in the first place.  Taxing income earned through investments without the need for the individual to engage in actual labor should be treated differently!
            
            
            should belong to the individual that worked for it.

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            1. 78

               Shadesbreathposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               A sales tax would hit the investment earners too if they ever tried to spend the money. I actually think that might be a reasonable approach to fair taxation. The only way to avoid it would be barter, and, I'm not sure that would be such a bad thing. Maybe it would, but I can't imagine how as I sit here just now. I mean, say you have a restaurant, and I want to eat there. You have a kid who likes sci-fi and wants to read my book. So I trade you a copy for a meal. How is that ever bad for anyone?
               
               There is still the argument some make that poor people would pay disproportionate amounts, but I guess we could have an income based "tax exempt" card for items like food and stuff for the poor to get around that.

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               1. 63

                  PhoenixVposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  They will never have a common sense sales tax because it would defeat their purpose of sustaining a global monetary ponzi scheme. If only it was about income tax-  then a sales tax would suffice, but it would never cover the cost of the pyramid. So they need  taxes and high interest on the Fiat money they print.
                  
                  Accounts Receivable Tax
                  Building Permit Tax
                  Capital Gains Tax
                  CDL license Tax
                  Cigarette Tax
                  Corporate Income Tax
                  Court Fines (indirect taxes)
                  Dog License Tax
                  Federal Income Tax
                  Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
                  Fishing License Tax
                  Food License Tax
                  Fuel permit tax
                  Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
                  Hunting License Tax
                  Inheritance Tax Interest expense (tax on the money)
                  Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
                  IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
                  Liquor Tax
                  Local Income Tax
                  Luxury Taxes
                  Marriage License Tax
                  Medicare Tax
                  Property Tax
                  Real Estate Tax
                  Septic Permit Tax
                  Service Charge Taxes
                  Social Security Tax
                  Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
                  Sales Taxes
                  Recreational Vehicle Tax
                  Road Toll Booth Taxes
                  School Tax
                  State Income Tax
                  State Unemployment Tax
                  Telephone federal excise tax
                  Telephone federal universal service fee tax
                  Telephone federal, state and
                  local surcharge taxes
                  Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
                  Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
                  Telephone state and local tax
                  Telephone usage charge tax
                  Toll Bridge Taxes
                  Toll Tunnel Taxes
                  Trailer Registration Tax
                  Utility Taxes
                  Vehicle License Registration Tax
                  Vehicle Sales Tax
                  Watercraft Registration Tax
                  Well Permit Tax
                  Workers Compensation Tax

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