4 ms·
You're conflating wuite a bit things here. Nothing, except tax avoidance of course, prevents the doctor from forming a company and taking money out as salary in
by tomp 11y ago
You're conflating wuite a bit things here. Nothing, except tax avoidance of course, prevents the doctor from forming a company and taking money out as salary instead of dividends, thus paying his "fair" (which, obviously, is debatable) share of tax.
- Nrsolis 11y agoAnd there is much debate about what "fair" means. If by "fair" you mean we all pay a roughly equal amount, then I'm cool with that. If by "fair" you mean that people who are more productive contribute a greater share of that production to the pot to achieve the social justice goals of others, then that's where I think there is room for debate.
- arethuza 11y agoIn that first case - do you mean equal amount or equal proportion?
- Nrsolis 11y agoGenerally speaking, I think an equal amount is a fairer structure than an equal proportion. I understand the arguments for progressive taxation and I'm not advocating against them, but when you look at taxation in the western world (particularly in the USA) you see a steady rise in use of tax funds to insulate people from negative outcomes that derive primarily from their personal choices. I'm all for freedom of choice. I'm less for "you pay for my stuff" because I made a choice to pursue a life that doesn't contribute to the general welfare of the country, now or in the future. I know people will downvote this post, but I know I'm not alone in my thinking.
- Spooky23 11y agoWhy? The doctor is a principal, an owner of a bona-fide business. Why should the doctor be treated the same as the receptionist or nurse? Theoretically, a dividend is a share of the profit generated by the business. Salary is payment for labor rendered. They both exist for different reasons.
- tomp 11y agoA doctor would earn 400k working for a hospital, and e.g. 800k working for own company. So it would be fair that s/he paid the same tax on the first 400k. Personally, I also think that any dividends and capital gains should be taxed equally, or more, than salary, but that's a different topic.
- princeb 11y agoa doctor also wouldn't have to invest any money into a clinic, equipment, staff, marketing when working for a hospital... so no, the first 400k is not the same.