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This is going to hurt the lower-to-middle class more than the wealthy. I bet a lot of Americans had to make some extra side income to combat inflation and a dif

This is going to hurt the lower-to-middle class more than the wealthy. I bet a lot of Americans had to make some extra side income to combat inflation and a difficult few years. Lowering the threshold from $20k to $600 seems like a shitty thing to do.

walterbell 4y ago
If CBDC legislation is passed by the upcoming Congress, the implicit threshold would be $0, since all transactions would be centralized, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32777875 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32777875
- deafpolygon 4y ago
  So, closing the wealth gap means ensuring the middle-to-lower class is taxed as much as possible?
  - walterbell 4y ago
    The article mentions "closing the tax gap", not "wealth gap"? If we lose all financial privacy via CBDCs, taxes may be the least of our worries. See history on the lessons of absolute power.
    - deafpolygon 4y ago
      Oops, sorry - yes, I meant the tax gap but the wealth gap was implied (in my opinion). Guess we really are going to need some form of bitcoins in the future.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    Reducing tax evasion has nothing to do with how much a certain income/wealth percentile is taxed. Marginal income/wealth/sales/property tax rates determine how much a given income/wealth percentile is taxed (including effects of deductions/credits/allowances).
Proven 4y ago
UncleMeat 4y ago
It has always been against the rules to cheat on your taxes. "We need to let people cheat more easily" is definitely not the right way of addressing financial insecurity.
- voakbasda 4y ago
  We started a revolution in this country over tax on tea. Pinching the lower class like this might not end well for the government in the current socioeconomic climate. Personally, I look forward to the revolution.
  - PopAlongKid 4y ago
    >We started a revolution in this country over tax on tea. That is not the full story. "American colonists objected to being taxed by the Parliament of Great Britain, a body in which they had no direct representation. "[0][emphasis added] It was taxation without representation that was the issue. Today in America, we have a similar issue for example with the citizens of California, who are woefully underpresented in Congress and the electoral college (because they only get the same two Senators as Wyoming despite having something like 60 times the population). [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution
    - revlolz 4y ago
      Why did you intentionally omit the house of representatives where the number of seats is tied to population? The Senate's entire purpose is a balance of power between small states and larger ones where the people are represented in the house. Your post feels ignorant or deceitful.
      - stevesearer 4y ago
        It is also interesting that US senators used to be selected by each state legislature as opposed to by popular election because their original purpose was to represent the state as a sovereign entity as opposed to the people directly.
kvetching 4y ago
Perfect timing. It is wrong. Period. While the wealthy have the cash to be able to WRITE THEIR OWN LOOPHOLES, this is happening. People don't have money to even survive. This is why many people turned to selling stuff online. JUST TO GET BY. They are using credit cards, just to get by. And now they will be in debt to the government because I'm sure a fraction of the people receiving a 1099 actually saved for taxes. So pathetic they put out this "warning" as if it's going to help anyone. People will have the warning when they receive their 1099s in the mail. They put taxes on online sales a few years ago. Now this? When the US is in massive debt and seemingly operates without any need for taxes. They just keep raising the debt ceiling. At this point, it's impossible to pay down the debt. Interest payments soon to be higher than GDP. The only solution they seem to be pushing towards is hyperinflation.
ZebraDude 4y ago
Yep, I’m one of the lower/poor class that stopped selling my old stuff on eBay on 12/31/21 as I would have jeopardized my Medicaid status as well as my ability to be used as a deduction.
Tozen 4y ago
> ...a lot of Americans had to make some extra side income to combat inflation and a difficult few years... The impetus does appear to be because of corona, a lot of people might of got used to working or doing business from home and/or freelancing. You know, the true enemies, of not generating enough tax revenue. Why hassle billionaires and millionaires, when you can chase down some struggling people who might have made over $600 dollars. Looks like some really smart people in high places felt they might be missing out on some cash, somewhere, so needed to step on, squeeze, flip over and shake the lower to middle class as much as possible. The unwashed lower classes might be hiding some loose change under a cushion, so need to make sure to get first dibs on it. Trying to make ends meet, pay rent, or eat? Don't worry about that, if you made a buck, make sure you know who gets the first cut. And at $600, they might as well go the full monty, and bring it to $0. Any of those with thoughts of extra "side income" or "side hustles", outside that cushy minimum wage job, may need to give that up or enjoy the extra headache. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

walterbell 4y ago

If CBDC legislation is passed by the upcoming Congress, the implicit threshold would be $0, since all transactions would be centralized, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32777875 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32777875

deafpolygon 4y ago
So, closing the wealth gap means ensuring the middle-to-lower class is taxed as much as possible?
- walterbell 4y ago
  The article mentions "closing the tax gap", not "wealth gap"? If we lose all financial privacy via CBDCs, taxes may be the least of our worries. See history on the lessons of absolute power.
  - deafpolygon 4y ago
    Oops, sorry - yes, I meant the tax gap but the wealth gap was implied (in my opinion). Guess we really are going to need some form of bitcoins in the future.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  Reducing tax evasion has nothing to do with how much a certain income/wealth percentile is taxed. Marginal income/wealth/sales/property tax rates determine how much a given income/wealth percentile is taxed (including effects of deductions/credits/allowances).

Proven 4y ago

UncleMeat 4y ago

It has always been against the rules to cheat on your taxes. "We need to let people cheat more easily" is definitely not the right way of addressing financial insecurity.

voakbasda 4y ago
We started a revolution in this country over tax on tea. Pinching the lower class like this might not end well for the government in the current socioeconomic climate. Personally, I look forward to the revolution.
- PopAlongKid 4y ago
  >We started a revolution in this country over tax on tea. That is not the full story. "American colonists objected to being taxed by the Parliament of Great Britain, a body in which they had no direct representation. "[0][emphasis added] It was taxation without representation that was the issue. Today in America, we have a similar issue for example with the citizens of California, who are woefully underpresented in Congress and the electoral college (because they only get the same two Senators as Wyoming despite having something like 60 times the population). [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution
  - revlolz 4y ago
    Why did you intentionally omit the house of representatives where the number of seats is tied to population? The Senate's entire purpose is a balance of power between small states and larger ones where the people are represented in the house. Your post feels ignorant or deceitful.
    - stevesearer 4y ago
      It is also interesting that US senators used to be selected by each state legislature as opposed to by popular election because their original purpose was to represent the state as a sovereign entity as opposed to the people directly.

kvetching 4y ago

Perfect timing. It is wrong. Period. While the wealthy have the cash to be able to WRITE THEIR OWN LOOPHOLES, this is happening. People don't have money to even survive. This is why many people turned to selling stuff online. JUST TO GET BY. They are using credit cards, just to get by. And now they will be in debt to the government because I'm sure a fraction of the people receiving a 1099 actually saved for taxes. So pathetic they put out this "warning" as if it's going to help anyone. People will have the warning when they receive their 1099s in the mail. They put taxes on online sales a few years ago. Now this? When the US is in massive debt and seemingly operates without any need for taxes. They just keep raising the debt ceiling. At this point, it's impossible to pay down the debt. Interest payments soon to be higher than GDP. The only solution they seem to be pushing towards is hyperinflation.

ZebraDude 4y ago

Yep, I’m one of the lower/poor class that stopped selling my old stuff on eBay on 12/31/21 as I would have jeopardized my Medicaid status as well as my ability to be used as a deduction.

Tozen 4y ago

> ...a lot of Americans had to make some extra side income to combat inflation and a difficult few years... The impetus does appear to be because of corona, a lot of people might of got used to working or doing business from home and/or freelancing. You know, the true enemies, of not generating enough tax revenue. Why hassle billionaires and millionaires, when you can chase down some struggling people who might have made over $600 dollars. Looks like some really smart people in high places felt they might be missing out on some cash, somewhere, so needed to step on, squeeze, flip over and shake the lower to middle class as much as possible. The unwashed lower classes might be hiding some loose change under a cushion, so need to make sure to get first dibs on it. Trying to make ends meet, pay rent, or eat? Don't worry about that, if you made a buck, make sure you know who gets the first cut. And at $600, they might as well go the full monty, and bring it to $0. Any of those with thoughts of extra "side income" or "side hustles", outside that cushy minimum wage job, may need to give that up or enjoy the extra headache. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.