Quote:
Originally Posted by aceventura3
What about truth? Isn't that more important than simplicity?
|
It's a limitation of the medium. There is a market for complex economic info; I hate to break it to you, but the post ain't it.
Quote:
|
Why does our tax code have to be so complicated? Shouldn't the average person be able to easily figure their tax obligation, with no surprises?
|
You might as well ask why the legal system has to be so complicated.
It is complicated because the world is a complicated place. Apparently the people who have glued the tax code together over the years found the virtues of a simple tax code less than compelling.
Quote:
|
The point is not making the extra money, but the "smoke and mirrors" games our government makes with the tax code. In addition don't you find it disturbing that those advocating for the poor are actually making it more difficult for the poor to accumulate wealth. Are you happy that poor people face what amounts to a 50% marginal tax burden when they start to do better? Like I have written in other threads, the "rich" are going to be o.k., because they have options and armies of tax experts to work with. The entrenched poor don't have a problem, because they have no real opportunities to make more money. Again, the real burden is carried by the middle class and high income earners (in some cases, not really "rich"). So, Obama's plan is basically a plan intended to fool people into thinking his plan will do what it is not really going to do. McCain's plan is not much better, but at least there is no pretense with his goals.
|
Who is making it more difficult for the poor to accumulate wealth? It's a hallmark of progressive tax systems that people pay more money when they make more money. I am fairly certain that I will pay less taxes under Obama's plan, regardless of whatever trickery you think his plan contains.
There is definitely a threshold over which you start paying more taxes. But, your net gain is still positive with respect to the taxes you owe. I don't know about you, but I've never heard anyone expressing the desire to go back to making $15,000 a year because their tax burden is too much when they make $40-50,000. You can pull this "won't somebody please think of the upwardly mobile members of the lower class" business if you want, but to me it seems a bit too contrived.
Quote:
|
The guy who spends time understanding taxes is going to have an advantage over the guy who does not. the more complicated the tax code the bigger the advantage. In the examples I gave if both families had the exact same cash flow, but the first family had 1099 income that could be offset by legitimate business expense lowering their taxable income to the amount in the example - perhaps they have a net advantage of $8,000. If they did that every year for 20 years, saved the money in an account earning 5%, they would have about $300,000 in the bank.
|
What do you mean "is going to have an advantage over"? Ceteris paribus aside, you have to be pretty far removed from any sort of general notion of how things work to presume that there is much of an advantage to be gained over your fellow man by having a better understanding of tax code than him. Even then, I think you mean to say that the guy who knows a good accountant is going to have an advantage over the guy who doesn't. Just like the guy who knows a good lawyer will have an advantage over the guy who doesn't.
Quote:
|
But, I am betting that person will be highly scorned by the left as being a greedy capitalist deserving of having that money taken to support the family that did not take the time to understand taxes. But, like I said - tax policy does not have to be so complicated - simplify it and put everyone on an equal playing ground.
|
This is fantasy. You must not be communicating effectively, because it sounds to me like you think that an important difference between rich people and poor people is that rich people have a better understanding of the tax code. I don't know if you've ever seen rich CEO's testify in front of congress, but those folks don't seem to know how to tie their shoes, much less fill out a tax form.
The people who deserve scorn are the people who are already obscenely wealthy who hide their money from the government because they can't bear to part even a fraction of it.
Quote:
Please disregard everything I wrote and believe what you currently think. Let's compare notes in 20 years.
|
Right, because you're going to use your superb understanding of the U.S. tax code to develop of overwhelming advantage over me. Because we're in direct competition and whatever extra money you can glean from your superior knowledge of the U.S. tax code will come directly out of my pocket. Clearly, there are no other factors at play. At all.