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> Middle class salary workers pay a lot of tax No they don't. If we're talking about federal income tax, the vast majority of is paid by the wealthy.

wppick 1y ago
All tax. Income tax, payroll tax, consumption tax
- kccoder 1y ago
  Property tax, sales tax, tariffs, ...
  - fakedang 1y ago
    Funny how you all rebelled in the good old days over a tax of 3 pence per pound of tea.
    - wqaatwt 1y ago
      IIRC it was mainly about the government giving the East India Company a monopoly on all tea imports sidelining local merchants in Boston. The tax was used to rile up the mobs by merchants/smugglers, because the monopoly tea was actually cheaper than what they could ship from Holland.
- SideQuark 1y ago
  Corp income tax (paid by shareholders from the rich to teacher pensions to anyone with a retirement account...), estate tax,... When all is accounted for ... The rich still pay a far larger share than the income they earn. It's why OECD rates the US as the most progressive tax system among member nations.
  - throwawayqqq11 1y ago
    ... which implies these taxes get actually payed. At least in the same proportions as lower income taxes get payed. There is no effective taxation when avoidance is easy and risk-free.
    - phil21 1y ago
      They are talking about the final numbers at the end of the day. Effective tax rates. It’s the same no matter if you want to use effective vs nominal. The numbers change, but relatively speaking they are roughly the same.
  - codingrightnow 1y ago
    True or not that the wealthy pay a greater share of their money in taxes, it doesn't matter. The money has to come from somewhere and the middle and lower classes can't afford it. Also the middle class can't pay more and continue buying the super wealthy's goods. We need to spend less and tax more. 1 trillion in interest per year is insane.
phil21 1y ago
You are correct. But you are commenting in a place where mid six figure engineers consider themselves middle class and not wealthy. Yes, the top 20% pay the vast majority of taxes and are taxed at the highest rate until you get into the ownership classes where income goes down and capital gains goes up. Plus that’s when all the tax deferral strategies come into play. And yes, by all reasonable definitions if you are in the top 20% either income or wealth you are categorically wealthy.

wppick 1y ago

All tax. Income tax, payroll tax, consumption tax

kccoder 1y ago
Property tax, sales tax, tariffs, ...
- fakedang 1y ago
  Funny how you all rebelled in the good old days over a tax of 3 pence per pound of tea.
  - wqaatwt 1y ago
    IIRC it was mainly about the government giving the East India Company a monopoly on all tea imports sidelining local merchants in Boston. The tax was used to rile up the mobs by merchants/smugglers, because the monopoly tea was actually cheaper than what they could ship from Holland.
SideQuark 1y ago
Corp income tax (paid by shareholders from the rich to teacher pensions to anyone with a retirement account...), estate tax,... When all is accounted for ... The rich still pay a far larger share than the income they earn. It's why OECD rates the US as the most progressive tax system among member nations.
- throwawayqqq11 1y ago
  ... which implies these taxes get actually payed. At least in the same proportions as lower income taxes get payed. There is no effective taxation when avoidance is easy and risk-free.
  - phil21 1y ago
    They are talking about the final numbers at the end of the day. Effective tax rates. It’s the same no matter if you want to use effective vs nominal. The numbers change, but relatively speaking they are roughly the same.
- codingrightnow 1y ago
  True or not that the wealthy pay a greater share of their money in taxes, it doesn't matter. The money has to come from somewhere and the middle and lower classes can't afford it. Also the middle class can't pay more and continue buying the super wealthy's goods. We need to spend less and tax more. 1 trillion in interest per year is insane.

phil21 1y ago

You are correct. But you are commenting in a place where mid six figure engineers consider themselves middle class and not wealthy. Yes, the top 20% pay the vast majority of taxes and are taxed at the highest rate until you get into the ownership classes where income goes down and capital gains goes up. Plus that’s when all the tax deferral strategies come into play. And yes, by all reasonable definitions if you are in the top 20% either income or wealth you are categorically wealthy.