We did just go through this, and i never got an answer to my question, other than you choosing to use different numbers than I used. My numbers showed a more accurate picture of the overall tax burden of the wealthy. This is EXACTLY the reason our tax system was established as a progressive tax system LONG ago (not recently), because the wealthy have different opportunities to make more money, in ways that are taxed much lower than income tax rates, and can benefit from many more tax benefits and deductions than the lower earners in the country.
There are different tax rates for different ways of making money. Now I could agree with you that everyone pays the same tax rate if ALL of their income, including income, investments, inheritances, ALL of it, were equally taxed, and there were NO DEDUCTIONS. But that's not the case, is it?
[How long will I wait for an answer to THAT question?] :0corn
So the answer, in my opinion, to your question is that yes it is fair that the wealthy pay more of the income tax burden, because they benefit from many more income opportunities and benefits that other lower tax payers don't and can't - and the other important reason is they benefit more from the system than those who do not make as much money.
"My" 18% figure is nothing more than reporting the actual tax rate for wealthy earners, from the I.R.S. I didn't make anything up. And I just explained why it makes sense that they should have a higher income tax rate - to make up for the additional money they are able to make at much lower tax rates - or avoiding tax responsibilities in creative ways that others cannot - like your moving money around to avoid paying tax, that others who cannot afford to invest cannot do.
Also, in looking at the amount of money made and paid out on - how much money does the bottom 50% manage to keep on a weekly basis, and how much does the top 10%, 25%, get to keep? You want to squeeze out more from the bottom earners that keep nothing of their money and most cannot make ends meet NOW?
Conservative values - priceless... :0074
There are different tax rates for different ways of making money. Now I could agree with you that everyone pays the same tax rate if ALL of their income, including income, investments, inheritances, ALL of it, were equally taxed, and there were NO DEDUCTIONS. But that's not the case, is it?
[How long will I wait for an answer to THAT question?] :0corn
So the answer, in my opinion, to your question is that yes it is fair that the wealthy pay more of the income tax burden, because they benefit from many more income opportunities and benefits that other lower tax payers don't and can't - and the other important reason is they benefit more from the system than those who do not make as much money.
"My" 18% figure is nothing more than reporting the actual tax rate for wealthy earners, from the I.R.S. I didn't make anything up. And I just explained why it makes sense that they should have a higher income tax rate - to make up for the additional money they are able to make at much lower tax rates - or avoiding tax responsibilities in creative ways that others cannot - like your moving money around to avoid paying tax, that others who cannot afford to invest cannot do.
Also, in looking at the amount of money made and paid out on - how much money does the bottom 50% manage to keep on a weekly basis, and how much does the top 10%, 25%, get to keep? You want to squeeze out more from the bottom earners that keep nothing of their money and most cannot make ends meet NOW?
Conservative values - priceless... :0074
