4 ms·

Ive said it before. The rich dont pay income tax because they dont have an income, they use long term capital gains and carried interest. Not sure why I am get

Ive said it before. The rich dont pay income tax because they dont have an income, they use long term capital gains and carried interest. Not sure why I am getting downvoted. Did I say anything factually wrong?

almost_usual 8y ago
They do pay property tax..
- cptskippy 8y ago
  Only if they can't avoid it.
- ThomPete 8y ago
  Property tax is nothing compared to the income tax you can end up paying. And again carried interest.
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  They try not to. Our local billionaire refused to pay his property taxes for a while because geese pooped on his lakefront lawn. https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/10/23/tom-golisano-billionaire-witholds-taxes-canandaigua-lake-geese-paychex/790888001/ https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/10/23/t...
dahdum 8y ago
The underlying theory is that the corporation generating those gains or dividends was already taxed on that income before distribution. Most economists love the idea of a 0% corporate income tax, which would likely be paired with LTCG going to the earned income rate. Unfortunately it sounds too much like a "handout" to be politically viable.
- conanbatt 8y ago
  Ding ding. Corporate taxes as a policy is one of the incredibles where economics and politics clash complete.y
- ThomPete 8y ago
  The point is that the really rich get little income (ex. Bezos paying himself around 80K a year) and instead use ex. capital gains to only pay 20%. I don't mind this system it benefits me greatly too. But it's absurd that I pay close to 50% in tax (I live in New York) from the income I make from the actual work I do and much less when I invest. That model seems backward as my income is actually the best indicator of how much value I provide. Where as the potential upside from an investment or buying a house is so big it dwarf any income most people can make.
- rifung 8y ago
  > Most economists love the idea of a 0% corporate income tax, which would likely be paired with LTCG going to the earned income rate. Unfortunately it sounds too much like a "handout" to be politically viable. Source? I thought the issue with no corporate income tax was that people could just set up shell corporations and indefinitely delay their income taxes.
- drilldrive 8y ago
  >Most economists love the idea of a 0% corporate income tax, which would likely be paired with LTCG going to the earned income rate. Could you expand what you mean with this statement, and do you have any data on consensus of economists regarding corporate tax rate? Sorry, I am not familiar with economics jargon.
dragonwriter 8y ago
Long term capital gains is income tax, it is just income that is taxed at a preferential rate.
- ThomPete 8y ago
  Yeah but at a very different tax bracket.
gok 8y ago
You're getting downvoted because your claim (a) has nothing to do with this article and (b) is nonsensical. Both long term gains and carried interest are taxed as income, just sometimes at a different rate. So yes, it's factually wrong to claim that people "using" these "dont have an income."

almost_usual 8y ago

They do pay property tax..

cptskippy 8y ago
Only if they can't avoid it.
ThomPete 8y ago
Property tax is nothing compared to the income tax you can end up paying. And again carried interest.
ceejayoz 8y ago
They try not to. Our local billionaire refused to pay his property taxes for a while because geese pooped on his lakefront lawn. https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/10/23/tom-golisano-billionaire-witholds-taxes-canandaigua-lake-geese-paychex/790888001/ https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/10/23/t...

dahdum 8y ago

The underlying theory is that the corporation generating those gains or dividends was already taxed on that income before distribution. Most economists love the idea of a 0% corporate income tax, which would likely be paired with LTCG going to the earned income rate. Unfortunately it sounds too much like a "handout" to be politically viable.

conanbatt 8y ago
Ding ding. Corporate taxes as a policy is one of the incredibles where economics and politics clash complete.y
ThomPete 8y ago
The point is that the really rich get little income (ex. Bezos paying himself around 80K a year) and instead use ex. capital gains to only pay 20%. I don't mind this system it benefits me greatly too. But it's absurd that I pay close to 50% in tax (I live in New York) from the income I make from the actual work I do and much less when I invest. That model seems backward as my income is actually the best indicator of how much value I provide. Where as the potential upside from an investment or buying a house is so big it dwarf any income most people can make.
rifung 8y ago
> Most economists love the idea of a 0% corporate income tax, which would likely be paired with LTCG going to the earned income rate. Unfortunately it sounds too much like a "handout" to be politically viable. Source? I thought the issue with no corporate income tax was that people could just set up shell corporations and indefinitely delay their income taxes.
drilldrive 8y ago
>Most economists love the idea of a 0% corporate income tax, which would likely be paired with LTCG going to the earned income rate. Could you expand what you mean with this statement, and do you have any data on consensus of economists regarding corporate tax rate? Sorry, I am not familiar with economics jargon.

dragonwriter 8y ago

Long term capital gains is income tax, it is just income that is taxed at a preferential rate.

ThomPete 8y ago
Yeah but at a very different tax bracket.

gok 8y ago

You're getting downvoted because your claim (a) has nothing to do with this article and (b) is nonsensical. Both long term gains and carried interest are taxed as income, just sometimes at a different rate. So yes, it's factually wrong to claim that people "using" these "dont have an income."