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Originally Posted by filtherton
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.
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Sales taxes are not complicated. Property taxes are not complicated. In both cases you can easily plan and it is difficult to "game" those systems.
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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.
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In addition to tax policy there are the ramifications of tax policy. So, when Obama talks about windfall profit taxes on oil companies or giving everyone $1,000 from oil company profits perhaps most people don't realize that the cost of those ideas will be reflected at the pump. So what is the point of getting $1,000 and then giving it back when you buy oil and gas? The point is to get Obama elected.
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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.
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I get your point and it would have an impact on me if I did not constantly hear from liberals how they are fighting for the poor, fighting against poverty, fighting for real wage increases, fighting against disproportionate wealth distribution, etc, etc. A middle class or working poor person should not have to face what amounts to a 50% marginal tax rate. That is simply too much in my book.
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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.
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If I were to delegate my finances to an accountant, I would hire the best available accountant not depending on luck. In order to hire the best accountant you have to know what to ask. In order to know what to ask you have to have knowledge. the man with knowledge will make better choices than the man who does not. That is an advantage. Sure people get lucky, but if you are a gambler (which is what you are if you are uninformed) and rely on luck you will not come out ahead if the odds are not in you favor.
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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.
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"Rich" people hire CEO's to run their companies. Good CEO's are good at running companies.
I measure wealth based on assets, not income. An "easy" to read person on this subject is Robert Kiyosaki ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad"), in one example he uses he talks about owning real estate and doing cash out refinancing - loans are not considered taxable income. So, a "rich" person could put themselves in a situation to place a mortgage on a income producing property, use the cash and then have the mortgage reduce the taxable income on the property further reducing their tax burden. Oh - and they could hire a CEO to handle it thier operations, while they drink Mojito's on the beach.
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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.
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"Rich" people don't have to hide their money. They don't have to violate the law, they just understand the law and work within it. Just like those who understand the value of an IRA, have an IRA. There is nothing illegal or wrong with understanding the law and using it to your advantage. Everyone should have an IRA. If there are problems within the law, the law should be fixed.
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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.
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No, I don't have a superb understanding, I am putting effort into gaining a superb understanding. I realize what I write will have no impact on anyone, but in some cases it forces me to think some thing through and writing about it helps. I simply think hard work, and the quest for knowledge will make a difference over time. I could be wrong, after all is said and done I doubt I will ever have the money or "assets" of Paris Hilton. So, maybe its all about luck.