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We already have an estate tax that maxes out at 40%. As long as we don't allow any more exemptions or windows, it shouldn't be a problem. We may quarrel over wh
by newjersey 11y ago
We already have an estate tax that maxes out at 40%. As long as we don't allow any more exemptions or windows, it shouldn't be a problem. We may quarrel over whether or not free lunch at work qualifies as income (I'd say it is not worth it to make a fuss) but use of corporate funds for personal expenses would count as income for the person if we are worried about these things. As long as the mega rich do not receive and spend over (for example) three million dollars a year per person, why should we worry about them? If they take over three million dollars and pay 90% off the top, they are more than welcome to do so in my eyes. The main thing is that there should be no exemptions for any reason. Exemptions, exclusions, deductions, tax discounts, and such are inherently examples of central planning. I can't believe that we would allow such communist ideas in our country.
My goal is not to facilitate people to become ultra rich through "entrepreneurial zeal and hard work". It is just the same ignorance as shown by pg in his recent essay where he says that a startup entrepreneur who becomes a billionaire is somehow better or more desirable than a billionaire who inherited his money. What I want is to get a solid foundation so people are not worried about their next meal or a clean dry place to spend the night.
If someone creates a new business process or a new gizmo that does the work that formerly took one thousand workers, well I am thankful to the person. However, we will still cap his payday at a hundred times the minimum living wage. I think it is a fair deal. People who do things should do things because they want to do things not because they want a big payday and become "mega rich".
Edit: There was an article that I read the other day that said something along the lines of forget the mega rich the upper middle class is the cause of the decline of America.
- notahacker 11y agoSo the only tax break you're permitting is for inheritance? One doesn't need to believe that a startup entrepreneur who becomes a billionaire is somehow better than a billionaire who inherited his money to find line of argument that implies the only exemption in the tax system should be for inherited fortunes unfathomable.
- newjersey 11y agoI think paying in taxes almost half of the inheritance is good enough. We just need to ensure there are no exemptions or loopholes.