Here's what happens when the world's richest man buys the presidency

[AndreasHG]

22 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Being the 1% pay 40% , and top 10% pay 76%, of the income tax, that does make sense.

 

Dig a bit deeper and you'll find that the top 1% is made almost exclusively by the top salary earners (taxable earnings from 680k USD upward).

Who Pays Federal Income Taxes? Latest Federal Income Tax Data

 

An analysis on the top 25 richest people gave a stark result: 'According to Forbes, those 25 people saw their worth rise a collective $401 billion from 2014 to 2018. They paid a total of $13.6 billion in federal income taxes in those five years, the IRS data shows. That’s a staggering sum, but it amounts to a true tax rate of only 3.4%.'

'No one among the 25 wealthiest avoided as much tax as Buffett, the grandfatherly centibillionaire. That’s perhaps surprising, given his public stance as an advocate of higher taxes for the rich. According to Forbes, his riches rose $24.3 billion between 2014 and 2018. Over those years, the data shows, Buffett reported paying $23.7 million in taxes', i.e. less than 1‰. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2021/06/08/richest-americans-including-bezos-musk-and-buffett-paid-federal-income-taxes-equaling-just-34-of-401-billion-in-new-wealth-bombshell-report-shows/

 

The reason is that the Federal Income tax heavily penalizes salaries vs. capital gains. Capital gains are tax-free until they are realized.

If this is a good thing or a bad thing is debatable. But the result is that the middle class, making its living working and earning salaries, bear the brunt of the federal expenses. The ultra rich and the 50% at the bottom of the pyramid live in a tax-free heaven, and their only concern (provided they are concerned at all) is the size of the public debt.

 

[KhunLA]

8 minutes ago, AndreasHG said:

 

Dig a bit deeper and you'll find that the top 1% is made almost exclusively by the top salary earners (taxable earnings from 680k USD upward).

Who Pays Federal Income Taxes? Latest Federal Income Tax Data

 

An analysis on the top 25 richest people gave a stark result: 'According to Forbes, those 25 people saw their worth rise a collective $401 billion from 2014 to 2018. They paid a total of $13.6 billion in federal income taxes in those five years, the IRS data shows. That’s a staggering sum, but it amounts to a true tax rate of only 3.4%.'

'No one among the 25 wealthiest avoided as much tax as Buffett, the grandfatherly centibillionaire. That’s perhaps surprising, given his public stance as an advocate of higher taxes for the rich. According to Forbes, his riches rose $24.3 billion between 2014 and 2018. Over those years, the data shows, Buffett reported paying $23.7 million in taxes', i.e. less than 1‰. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2021/06/08/richest-americans-including-bezos-musk-and-buffett-paid-federal-income-taxes-equaling-just-34-of-401-billion-in-new-wealth-bombshell-report-shows/

 

The reason is that the Federal Income tax heavily penalizes salaries vs. capital gains. Capital gains are tax-free until they are realized.

If this is a good thing or a bad thing is debatable. But the result is that the middle class, making its living working and earning salaries, bear the brunt of the federal expenses. The ultra rich and the 50% at the bottom of the pyramid live in a tax-free heaven, and their only concern (provided they are concerned at all) is the size of the public debt.

 

Their wealth rose.  That doesn't mean their income rose, especially if tied to stocks.  Some assets aren't taxed until sold, as it should be, as they have no value, until sold.

 

When you have money and assets, they grow very fast once established.

 

The tax cose (USA) is already bias to higher earners.  A fair tax is a flat tax ... everyone pays the same.  Nobody should be penalized for working longer, harder or smarter.

 

I earn, I keep.  You want more, earn more.  Because you won't earn more, I have to give you mine, because I have more ... in what world is that fair.

[AndreasHG]

9 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Their wealth rose.  That doesn't mean their income rose, especially if tied to stocks.  Some assets aren't taxed until sold, as it should be, as they have no value, until sold.

 

When you have money and assets, they grow very fast once established.

 

The tax cose (USA) is already bias to higher earners.  A fair tax is a flat tax ... everyone pays the same.  Nobody should be penalized for working longer, harder or smarter.

 

I earn, I keep.  You want more, earn more.  Because you won't earn more, I have to give you mine, because I have more ... in what world is that fair.

 

It's debatable. Taxes in most countries are a mix of progressive taxes and flat taxes. The US is no exception.

 

[AgMech Cowboy]

On 12/16/2024 at 3:02 PM, simple1 said:

Interesting opinion piece...

 

GOP legislators are toying with reducing payouts under the system, including raising the retirement age and other benefit cuts. As one GOP representative recently told Fox Business Network, “we're going to have to have some hard decisions” on Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.

 

Trump’s GOP will be making “hard” choices, meaning they will be cutting benefits, in order to fund tax cuts for wealthy donors.

 

Here's what happens when the world's richest man buys the presidency | Opinion

Absolute BS!  And besides, Trump and the GOP did not buy the US presidency.