4 ms·

Even better, tax really rich people who don't need tax cuts. Poor people will spend any more money they got, and we have a consumer driven economy. We should he

Even better, tax really rich people who don't need tax cuts. Poor people will spend any more money they got, and we have a consumer driven economy. We should help poor people, not overpaid software engineers like me.

freewilly1040 8y ago
You’ll need a different congress for that
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- tjr225 8y ago
  Maybe, just maybe, we will get one.
mohammedbin 8y ago
You are free to send IRS a bigger check. What's that? You won't do it unless everybody has to? That's just an excuse.
anon49124 8y ago
91% for millionaires, like the good ol' days.
- briandear 8y ago
  False. https://mises.org/library/good-ol-days-when-tax-rates-were-90-percent https://mises.org/library/good-ol-days-when-tax-rates-were-9...
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    If we're throwing clearly partisan sources around: Sort-of. http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/08/07/the_history_of_tax_rates_for_the_rich.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/08/07/the_history_o... For a less partisan source, with a neat "pick your income" chart that illustrates the flaws in the Mises argument for sky-high incomes (try anything over ~$500k/year), https://qz.com/74271/income-tax-rates-since-1913/ https://qz.com/74271/income-tax-rates-since-1913/
- refurb 8y ago
  The percentage of all taxes paid by the top 10% hasn’t really changed over the past century. Despite have marginal rates >70%, very few people ever paid them.
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    True for the top 10%. Put in the top 1% (~$500k), though, on the effective tax rate chart at https://qz.com/74271/income-tax-rates-since-1913/ https://qz.com/74271/income-tax-rates-since-1913/ and you'll see it has dropped significantly for that population (by about half) since about 1980.
briandear 8y ago
Speak for yourself. I am not overpaid. I get paid exactly what the market for my skills is willing to pay. $15 per hour for a teenager to sweep floors — now that’s being overpaid. If you think you are undertaxed, there is a solution: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/gift/gift.htm https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/gift/gift.htm In 2018, just over $700,000 has been donated. So clearly all of us “overpaid” people don’t really care. I pay taxes for public transit I don’t use, public schools my kids don’t attend, healthcare I don’t consume, wars I didn’t ask for, bridges in places I’ll never go. I subsidize food for people I’ll never meet, housing, universal service fees; I pay sales taxes on everything, excise taxes created to pay for a war almost 100 years before I was born, subsidies to farmers, oil, green energy — we pay for all of this stuff. I am on with paying taxes, but dammit, I pay enough already. Over half of everything I earn goes to pay for government. I even had to pay US taxes when I didn’t even live in the US. I understand taxes are necessary; but it’s not fair that I work 1 day for the government for every 1 day I work for myself. It doesn’t matter how much I get paid, what matters is that half of everything I do goes to taxes. I worked very hard to get to where I am — that ought not result in being punished for it. I consume just as much “government” as the guy standing next to me; why should I have to pay more than him?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- Latteland 8y ago
  I am paid what the market allows also. I pay tons and tons of taxes too! But it's not better for society if people like me get together and take over the government via regulatory capture and get lower taxes just for us (like paying all the senators to do things we like via campaign contributions and. hiring them when they retire). How much taxes do you think you should pay? Less than everyone else? What if your kids or your nephews say, aren't quite as fortunate as you are, they are sweeping the floor somewhere, and they get sick or in a car accident? Should they just die, or depend on the kindness of strangers or a rich aunt? I think we should take care of the poor, the kids who weren't lucky enough to be born to someone who was rich or a programmer (I was lucky and born to two college graduates, and one was even a programmer :-)).
refurb 8y ago
The top 10% (many people in HN are in this group, it’s $130k+) already pay 70-80% of all income taxes. How much higher do you think that number should be?
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  "The top 10% pay 70% of income taxes" sounds scary until you remember they also control 75% of the wealth in the country.

freewilly1040 8y ago

You’ll need a different congress for that

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
tjr225 8y ago
Maybe, just maybe, we will get one.

mohammedbin 8y ago

You are free to send IRS a bigger check. What's that? You won't do it unless everybody has to? That's just an excuse.

anon49124 8y ago

91% for millionaires, like the good ol' days.

briandear 8y ago
False. https://mises.org/library/good-ol-days-when-tax-rates-were-90-percent https://mises.org/library/good-ol-days-when-tax-rates-were-9...
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  If we're throwing clearly partisan sources around: Sort-of. http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/08/07/the_history_of_tax_rates_for_the_rich.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/08/07/the_history_o... For a less partisan source, with a neat "pick your income" chart that illustrates the flaws in the Mises argument for sky-high incomes (try anything over ~$500k/year), https://qz.com/74271/income-tax-rates-since-1913/ https://qz.com/74271/income-tax-rates-since-1913/
refurb 8y ago
The percentage of all taxes paid by the top 10% hasn’t really changed over the past century. Despite have marginal rates >70%, very few people ever paid them.
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  True for the top 10%. Put in the top 1% (~$500k), though, on the effective tax rate chart at https://qz.com/74271/income-tax-rates-since-1913/ https://qz.com/74271/income-tax-rates-since-1913/ and you'll see it has dropped significantly for that population (by about half) since about 1980.

briandear 8y ago

Speak for yourself. I am not overpaid. I get paid exactly what the market for my skills is willing to pay. $15 per hour for a teenager to sweep floors — now that’s being overpaid. If you think you are undertaxed, there is a solution: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/gift/gift.htm https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/gift/gift.htm In 2018, just over $700,000 has been donated. So clearly all of us “overpaid” people don’t really care. I pay taxes for public transit I don’t use, public schools my kids don’t attend, healthcare I don’t consume, wars I didn’t ask for, bridges in places I’ll never go. I subsidize food for people I’ll never meet, housing, universal service fees; I pay sales taxes on everything, excise taxes created to pay for a war almost 100 years before I was born, subsidies to farmers, oil, green energy — we pay for all of this stuff. I am on with paying taxes, but dammit, I pay enough already. Over half of everything I earn goes to pay for government. I even had to pay US taxes when I didn’t even live in the US. I understand taxes are necessary; but it’s not fair that I work 1 day for the government for every 1 day I work for myself. It doesn’t matter how much I get paid, what matters is that half of everything I do goes to taxes. I worked very hard to get to where I am — that ought not result in being punished for it. I consume just as much “government” as the guy standing next to me; why should I have to pay more than him?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
Latteland 8y ago
I am paid what the market allows also. I pay tons and tons of taxes too! But it's not better for society if people like me get together and take over the government via regulatory capture and get lower taxes just for us (like paying all the senators to do things we like via campaign contributions and. hiring them when they retire). How much taxes do you think you should pay? Less than everyone else? What if your kids or your nephews say, aren't quite as fortunate as you are, they are sweeping the floor somewhere, and they get sick or in a car accident? Should they just die, or depend on the kindness of strangers or a rich aunt? I think we should take care of the poor, the kids who weren't lucky enough to be born to someone who was rich or a programmer (I was lucky and born to two college graduates, and one was even a programmer :-)).

refurb 8y ago

The top 10% (many people in HN are in this group, it’s $130k+) already pay 70-80% of all income taxes. How much higher do you think that number should be?

ceejayoz 8y ago
"The top 10% pay 70% of income taxes" sounds scary until you remember they also control 75% of the wealth in the country.