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How do we know the money gained by these fixes is going to be used any better than had the government not gained them?

cheez 9y ago
Good question. I assume it would be proportionally spent as documented here: https://usafacts.org/ https://usafacts.org/
_red 9y ago
Are you against having TSA at train stations and mall entrances? Also against more bailouts for ultra-rich financial companies? tsk tsk. /s
- aliasxneo 9y ago
  You can believe in good uses of tax money and still question whether the government has too much money or routinely mishandles it. Am I missing your point?
eli_gottlieb 9y ago
Who cares? Criminals should be made to stop dodging their taxes.
- traek 9y ago
  Tax planning/tax avoidance as described in this article is completely legal.
- IncRnd 9y ago
  The activity discussed in the article is far from criminal.
- gbacon 9y ago
  Do you maximize the tax obligation on your personal return?
  - the_cat_kittles 9y ago
    this question often gets posed, but i think its misleading. probably no one seeks a higher tax obligation, but people certainly differ on how far they are willing to go to lower it. so, its really missing the point to try and excuse people for avoiding paying taxes- the point is that some people are doing it in a way that may conform to the letter of the law, but is clearly unethical and bordering on fraudulent by a normal observer's standards. i see no reason to excuse people for legal but reprehensible behavior in other arenas, why here?
    - gbacon 9y ago
      This is a losing battle for would-be tax reformers. The flip side of a large tax bill is an equally large incentive to minimize the legally required, or at least defensible, liability. As revenue grows, finding the denizens of Hacker News for Tax Attorneys and paying them larger and larger fees makes more and more sense. On one side are slovenly political committees and the other elite tax code hackers. When proponents of “fair share” and “ethical tax planning” resist giving exact definitions of these terms, they cannot be implemented but are instead red meat talking points to toss out to fellow partisans. In his book The Millionaire Next Door, Tom Stanley characterizes American millionaires, some 80% of whom received inheritances no larger than $10k, as being good at playing defense, that is keeping unnecessary outflow down. With this mindset, tax bills are only another expense to drive down, and they’re skilled and determined at doing so. What it comes down to is it’s always easy to spend someone else’s money. Everyone thinks he is paying his fair share of taxes, but the guy down the street is another matter.
angersock 9y ago
How do we know that it's going to be used any worse? I really wish that we, as a nation, started thinking in terms of what good works we could accomplish with our tax dollars instead of what stupid waste we could remove by not collecting them.

Good question. I assume it would be proportionally spent as documented here: https://usafacts.org/ https://usafacts.org/

_red 9y ago

Are you against having TSA at train stations and mall entrances? Also against more bailouts for ultra-rich financial companies? tsk tsk. /s

aliasxneo 9y ago
You can believe in good uses of tax money and still question whether the government has too much money or routinely mishandles it. Am I missing your point?

eli_gottlieb 9y ago

Who cares? Criminals should be made to stop dodging their taxes.

traek 9y ago
Tax planning/tax avoidance as described in this article is completely legal.
IncRnd 9y ago
The activity discussed in the article is far from criminal.
gbacon 9y ago
Do you maximize the tax obligation on your personal return?
- the_cat_kittles 9y ago
  this question often gets posed, but i think its misleading. probably no one seeks a higher tax obligation, but people certainly differ on how far they are willing to go to lower it. so, its really missing the point to try and excuse people for avoiding paying taxes- the point is that some people are doing it in a way that may conform to the letter of the law, but is clearly unethical and bordering on fraudulent by a normal observer's standards. i see no reason to excuse people for legal but reprehensible behavior in other arenas, why here?
  - gbacon 9y ago
    This is a losing battle for would-be tax reformers. The flip side of a large tax bill is an equally large incentive to minimize the legally required, or at least defensible, liability. As revenue grows, finding the denizens of Hacker News for Tax Attorneys and paying them larger and larger fees makes more and more sense. On one side are slovenly political committees and the other elite tax code hackers. When proponents of “fair share” and “ethical tax planning” resist giving exact definitions of these terms, they cannot be implemented but are instead red meat talking points to toss out to fellow partisans. In his book The Millionaire Next Door, Tom Stanley characterizes American millionaires, some 80% of whom received inheritances no larger than $10k, as being good at playing defense, that is keeping unnecessary outflow down. With this mindset, tax bills are only another expense to drive down, and they’re skilled and determined at doing so. What it comes down to is it’s always easy to spend someone else’s money. Everyone thinks he is paying his fair share of taxes, but the guy down the street is another matter.

angersock 9y ago

How do we know that it's going to be used any worse? I really wish that we, as a nation, started thinking in terms of what good works we could accomplish with our tax dollars instead of what stupid waste we could remove by not collecting them.