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Sure, but how does that benefit the people of the U.S.?

by jachee 8y ago

EpicEng 8y ago
How does growing a business benefit citizens? Jobs, economic stimulus, eventually larger taxes would be the obvious three. If you start disincentivizing reinvestment then, well... growth will slow. Same goes for losses. A calendar year is an arbitrary delineation of time. If your business loses $100 in one year and brings in $100 in revenue the next, do you really want them to pay taxes on said revenue? Seems a bit unfair, no? In a two year period they broke even, and that's not even considering what profits they may or may not have made. We want people to grow their businesses because it's generally good for everyone. Similarly, we tax profits, not revenue, because if we did the former companies would simply cut costs at every opportunity and never put money back in.
- jachee 8y ago
  Sounds a lot like Trickle Down Economics, which has been disproven time and again. Also: if amazon’s profit is double what it was last year, shouldn’t that profit be taxed? If they never pay taxes and continue exploiting labor, aren’t they a net drain on society?
  - EpicEng 8y ago
    We're talking about specifics here though, not an overarching economic theory which is defined by political buzzwords. I agree that the idea of trickle down on the whole doesn't work, but that doesn't mean every one of its ideas are wrong (and I believe this specifically is related to Reagan era economics.) Companies investing revenue is, in general, a good thing. You can of course debate the specifics of what constitutes an investment. >if amazon’s profit is double what it was last year, shouldn’t that profit be taxed? If they never pay taxes and continue exploiting labor, aren’t they a net drain on society? Well they do pay taxes, so I don't know where you're getting "never" from. Heck, just look at the chart at the bottom of the article. This is the _first_ year they had a negative rate. If you're going to make statements (shrouded in questions) like "they're a net drain on society" you're going to have to come up with some numbers.

Sure, but how does that benefit the people of the U.S.?

by jachee 8y ago

Sure, but how does that benefit the people of the U.S.?

How does growing a business benefit citizens? Jobs, economic stimulus, eventually larger taxes would be the obvious three. If you start disincentivizing reinvestment then, well... growth will slow. Same goes for losses. A calendar year is an arbitrary delineation of time. If your business loses $100 in one year and brings in $100 in revenue the next, do you really want them to pay taxes on said revenue? Seems a bit unfair, no? In a two year period they broke even, and that's not even considering what profits they may or may not have made. We want people to grow their businesses because it's generally good for everyone. Similarly, we tax profits, not revenue, because if we did the former companies would simply cut costs at every opportunity and never put money back in.

jachee 8y ago
Sounds a lot like Trickle Down Economics, which has been disproven time and again. Also: if amazon’s profit is double what it was last year, shouldn’t that profit be taxed? If they never pay taxes and continue exploiting labor, aren’t they a net drain on society?
- EpicEng 8y ago
  We're talking about specifics here though, not an overarching economic theory which is defined by political buzzwords. I agree that the idea of trickle down on the whole doesn't work, but that doesn't mean every one of its ideas are wrong (and I believe this specifically is related to Reagan era economics.) Companies investing revenue is, in general, a good thing. You can of course debate the specifics of what constitutes an investment. >if amazon’s profit is double what it was last year, shouldn’t that profit be taxed? If they never pay taxes and continue exploiting labor, aren’t they a net drain on society? Well they do pay taxes, so I don't know where you're getting "never" from. Heck, just look at the chart at the bottom of the article. This is the _first_ year they had a negative rate. If you're going to make statements (shrouded in questions) like "they're a net drain on society" you're going to have to come up with some numbers.