4 ms·

"Income tax rates have little effect on the already-wealthy because most of their money is not distributed in the form of a wage or salary; rather, it is stored

by rsync 9y ago

"Income tax rates have little effect on the already-wealthy because most of their money is not distributed in the form of a wage or salary; rather, it is stored in various types of financial vehicles that are already tax privileged." The problem with this line of thought in it's current implemenation is that the top marginal income tax rates are very, very, very low in comparison to the "truly wealthy" people that you are referring to. You only have to make (roughly) $400k[1] in the US to hit the very top federal bracket of 39%. That's hardly scrooge mcduck swimming in his bank vault. It's more like middle sized contractors, and (lower echelon) doctors and dentists. So if you are a proponent of substituting income taxes with wealth taxes I would hope you are also a proponent of drastically raising the income brackets for very, very high tax rates to avoid hitting people that aren't "actually wealthy" (your definition). [1] https://taxfoundation.org/2017-tax-brackets/ https://taxfoundation.org/2017-tax-brackets/

raarts 9y ago
Does a dentist really make $400k in the US? Wow, just wow..
- cmurf 9y ago
  Quick google search: The median annual Dentist salary is $146,434, as of April 27, 2017, with a range usually between $130,761-$171,212... If the dentist owns a particularly successful office of dentists, they're not just a dentist, but a small business owner, so they could be making more money (paid by dividends rather than salary).
  - lern_too_spel 9y ago
    An established single dentist practice will take in over a million dollars per year. After paying secretary and dental hygienist salaries, rent, and other business costs, that comes to more than $400k net. http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-102/issue-5/finances/i-paid-too-much-for-my-dental-practice.html http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-102/iss... https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-much-can-a-private-dentist-make.566230/ https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-much-can-a-priv...
milcron 9y ago
Income tax is the wrong way to tax the extremely wealthy. They make most of their income from capital gains, which is taxed at a different, low rate.
- refurb 9y ago
  Income tax includes capital gains. At least in the US it's included when you file your "income taxes".
  - cookiecaper 9y ago
    Short-term capital gains are taxed as regular income. Long-term capital gains are taxed at a significantly reduced rate (highest income tax bracket (39.6%) pays 20% on long-term capital gains). See http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/101515/comparing-longterm-vs-shortterm-capital-gain-tax-rates.asp http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/101515...
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- rsync 9y ago
  "Income tax is the wrong way to tax the extremely wealthy." That's my point. The top income tax brackets are designed for, and sold to voters as, appropriate rates for the "super rich". So to whatever degree you feel this is a bad tool for that job, I would hope you'd recognize that, therefore, the income ranges for those very high rates are not appropriate. As I pointed out, those top rates aren't for millions or tens of millions of dollars of income - they are for (roughly) $400k.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > Income tax is the wrong way to tax the extremely wealthy. No, it's the right way. > They make most of their income from capital gains, which is taxed at a different, low rate. Capital gains taxes are income taxes, they just are at a lower rate to deliberately favor holders of capital. But there's a simple and obvious way to correct that; apply regular income tax rates to capital gains [0]. [0] there is actually a good reason for special treatment of income earned over a period of greater than one year in a progressive annual income tax system, as doing otherwise penalizes punctuated, non-repeatable income; but you can address that by either (or both) of allowing income to be recognized in advance for tax purposes and allowing income to be deferred for tax purposes for a period after it is earned (neither of which, managed properly, provides any avoidance opportunity for regularly-recurring income.)
cookiecaper 9y ago
I'm not a proponent of a wealth tax.
- icantdrive55 9y ago
  I'm not either. When I heard what the French tax their high earners,mI understood Gerard Depardieu's move. I would like to see income tied to any fees/fines at all levels state, federal, and local governments though. Why does a poor person pay the same $550 red light violation as the wealthy person? Why does the wealthy Doctor pay the same license fees to the state as the new doctor? I could go on and on. Fees for building permits. Fees at DMV. Fees for going to a county park. Fees for fishing licences. We have the technology to tie income to the person, why not tie it to fees/fines? Oh yea, I always thought it was rediculious that a poor man gets the same bail amount as the wealthy man. I heard Sweden ties fees/fines to income. I wonder how much extra it's bringing in to the kitty?

by rsync 9y ago

raarts 9y ago

Does a dentist really make $400k in the US? Wow, just wow..

cmurf 9y ago
Quick google search: The median annual Dentist salary is $146,434, as of April 27, 2017, with a range usually between $130,761-$171,212... If the dentist owns a particularly successful office of dentists, they're not just a dentist, but a small business owner, so they could be making more money (paid by dividends rather than salary).
- lern_too_spel 9y ago
  An established single dentist practice will take in over a million dollars per year. After paying secretary and dental hygienist salaries, rent, and other business costs, that comes to more than $400k net. http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-102/issue-5/finances/i-paid-too-much-for-my-dental-practice.html http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-102/iss... https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-much-can-a-private-dentist-make.566230/ https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-much-can-a-priv...

milcron 9y ago

Income tax is the wrong way to tax the extremely wealthy. They make most of their income from capital gains, which is taxed at a different, low rate.

refurb 9y ago
Income tax includes capital gains. At least in the US it's included when you file your "income taxes".
- cookiecaper 9y ago
  Short-term capital gains are taxed as regular income. Long-term capital gains are taxed at a significantly reduced rate (highest income tax bracket (39.6%) pays 20% on long-term capital gains). See http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/101515/comparing-longterm-vs-shortterm-capital-gain-tax-rates.asp http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/101515...
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
rsync 9y ago
"Income tax is the wrong way to tax the extremely wealthy." That's my point. The top income tax brackets are designed for, and sold to voters as, appropriate rates for the "super rich". So to whatever degree you feel this is a bad tool for that job, I would hope you'd recognize that, therefore, the income ranges for those very high rates are not appropriate. As I pointed out, those top rates aren't for millions or tens of millions of dollars of income - they are for (roughly) $400k.
dragonwriter 9y ago
> Income tax is the wrong way to tax the extremely wealthy. No, it's the right way. > They make most of their income from capital gains, which is taxed at a different, low rate. Capital gains taxes are income taxes, they just are at a lower rate to deliberately favor holders of capital. But there's a simple and obvious way to correct that; apply regular income tax rates to capital gains [0]. [0] there is actually a good reason for special treatment of income earned over a period of greater than one year in a progressive annual income tax system, as doing otherwise penalizes punctuated, non-repeatable income; but you can address that by either (or both) of allowing income to be recognized in advance for tax purposes and allowing income to be deferred for tax purposes for a period after it is earned (neither of which, managed properly, provides any avoidance opportunity for regularly-recurring income.)

cookiecaper 9y ago

I'm not a proponent of a wealth tax.

icantdrive55 9y ago
I'm not either. When I heard what the French tax their high earners,mI understood Gerard Depardieu's move. I would like to see income tied to any fees/fines at all levels state, federal, and local governments though. Why does a poor person pay the same $550 red light violation as the wealthy person? Why does the wealthy Doctor pay the same license fees to the state as the new doctor? I could go on and on. Fees for building permits. Fees at DMV. Fees for going to a county park. Fees for fishing licences. We have the technology to tie income to the person, why not tie it to fees/fines? Oh yea, I always thought it was rediculious that a poor man gets the same bail amount as the wealthy man. I heard Sweden ties fees/fines to income. I wonder how much extra it's bringing in to the kitty?