See how easy it is to manipulate the facts. To advance their agenda of more government provided just about everything politicians and their advocates are perfectly willing to mislead and create new logic out of thin air.
The main federal tax is the individual income tax, which accounts for roughly half of all federal revenue and which tens of millions of middle-class people pay throughout the year as employers withhold taxes from their paychecks. To a great degree, however, the income tax is essentially voluntary for the nation’s richest people. Much of their income comes in the form of gains in the value of their stocks and other assets, and they can avoid taxes on those gains if they hold on to their assets rather than sell them. When high-income households do pay tax on their income from their assets — such as capital gains and dividends — they pay at tax rates that are far lower than the tax rates they would pay on wages and salaries.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/propublica-shows-how-little-the-wealthiest-pay-in-taxes-policymakers-should
Voluntary for the nations richest? Since when have gains on investments been income before realized? Are losses in stock values a decrease in income too? As you can see below, high income households pay 42% of all income taxes.
Everyone pays lower tax rates on dividends and capital gains. In fact, a married couple pays 0% on dividends is their income does not exceed $83,350. Are they among the wealthy? Average Americans can use a Roth IRA and accumulate unlimited funds and pay no tax on any earnings. Americans with an IRA or 401k or any investment accumulate earnings and growth tax deferred, just like billionaires.
The scurrilous claims about paying taxes is just an effort to deceive average Americans, to get them to believe that more from government is possible if only a small segment of citizens foot the bill.
Guess what? Becoming a billionaire is not unfair to you, it has nothing to do with you – except maybe you benefit from the creations of many of our billionaires.
If you want to be a billionaire, start in your garage or dorm room like Gates, Bezos, Dell, Jobs and Zuckerberg. Who is stopping you?
Envy is not a desirable trait.
In reality here is who pays income taxes.
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There are (at least) three issues here – Bernie and Liz and others (as evidenced in recent legislation that allows for the hiring of thousands of new IRS agents) believe there is a lotta leakage in the tax code. I agree, but, Bernie, Liz and others drilled those holes… :
1. You and I may not want to tax millionaires/billionaires on borrowing against accumulated assets any more than we would want to be taxed when we use home equity, or borrow using a cash advance on a credit card, or take a loan from our 401k plan. Bernie does, Liz does, and by limiting it to folks with substantial assets, their’s is nothing more than class envy. No wealth tax, never!
2. Step up basis – at death, taxation may be avoided by the rules regarding step up basis – the code allows for the individual inheriting property to raise the cost basis to the value as of the date of death – minimizing the capital gains taxes owed if the asset is sold later. I have no problem eliminating the step up basis rules, while making an exception for certain illiquid assets, such as inherited real estate (family farm) by allowing for the payment of taxes over an extended period of time (10, 20, 30 years with interest). That is, the taxes should not be less than the taxes the owner would have paid had the real estate been sold the date prior to his/her date of death.
3. Everyone should pay income taxes. Almost 50% of households with wage income do not pay income taxes. For personal income taxes on wage income, my recommendation is eliminate all the deductions, exemptions, surcharges, as well as all of the credits, etc. and apply a flat 15% tax rate – $.15 on every dollar. Bernie and Liz and others want to use the code and credits, deductions, exemptions as a means to buy votes. No!
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Sure. Let’s tax unrealized gains. Then we have to sell our investments to pay the taxes, creating more selling pressure in markets, lowering IRA and 401(k) savings for everyone in a world where more than half of retirees already can’t pay for basic life necessities (source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/americans-falling-short-affording-basic-expenses-retirement).
And they wonder why I call them Dumbocrats and Republicons.
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Is the government going to buy us shares in those years that we have unrealized losses or credit our tax returns? That is what I want to know.
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Interesting. 😊
Sent from my iPhone
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