I find that most people (though not all) who favor a progressive tax are motivated by some degree of resentment for the rich. It’s as though having extra money is supposed to bring some sort of idictment against alledgedly flawed character, and needs to be punished by taking more money away. This is nothing more than an expression of jealousy, an indicator of truly flawed character.

One thing that proponents of a progressive tax can never answer is this: by what logical standard do you draw the lines between tax brackets? Even though Congress might try to present rationales, in reality it is totally arbitrary. On the other hand, a flat tax rate and poverty threshold levels can be based on needs from collected data….needs of the people and of the government, too.

Shouldn’t each person in the US pay their share of the expenses to run the country regardless of their income? If you live here you get all the benefits.

Just one problem…the wealthy and the rich receive a vastly greater benefit from this country than do the middle and working classes.

If you doubt this, just try investing your money in a third world country. While you’re at it, try living there. Good luck!

The working class lives here and works here and has little to show for their hard work, and outside of the defense budget, I’m not seeing a whole lot of benefit. Think of a janitor working for minimum wage. Why should he have to pay for government janitors who work half as hard and earn four times as much (including fringes)? Is it his fault government wastes so much money?

The more I look into the “fair tax” the more I like it. A consumption tax that offers a prebate for all Americans up to the poverty level. It’s very simple. Yes, we’ll be sending everyone checks, but we just did that via the stimulus package. I love the idea that we pay for what we use and we earn what we work for. Am I missing something?

Um, (at least) one problem.

Under the fair tax, only renters pay for what they use. Homeowners get to enjoy their housing tax-free. Renters pay tax on every dollar of their rent, including the property taxes embedded in their rent. Under the fair tax, renters would pay a tax on top of a tax on top of a tax. That’s way too much tax for me.

I ran some numbers, and under the fair tax, a lifetime renter would pay about five times more fair tax than a homeowner with equal housing consumption. It’s a great idea if you want to redistribute income upward from renters to homeowners.

I once tithed. Lasted about three months, when I started getting utility shutoff notices. You see, I was tithing out of my minimum wage income and letting the utility bills slide. Since my income did not increase, that was unsustainable.

As currently proposed, it would tax all sorts of things not subject to state sales taxes.

Services would be taxed. Need to replace your transmission? Replace your roof? The tax is gonna hurt.

If you rent, your rent will be taxed. At all income levels, renters will pay more tax on their housing consumption than homeowners with equal consumption. What’s fair about that?

What about twentysomething Johnny who lives with his parents and pays rent? Will his parents collect the tax from Johnny and send it in? Are you kidding?

I rent a room in an owner-occupied house. Do you think the homeowner is going to collect the tax and send it in? What have you been smoking?

How? I’m not making of you – I really want to know how donating 10% of your net income actually improved your financial situation? Did it make you more aware of your finances? If it did, wouldn’t you agree that putting 10% of your income in a savings account would raise similar awareness, as well as increase your net worth?

Lets look at one way of defining “fair” ..

Shouldn’t each person in the US pay their share of the expenses to run the country regardless of their income? If you live here you get all the benefits.

To figure the per capita cost look at total actual federal spending and divide it by the total US population then levy a per capita fee on every man, woman AND *child*.

Easy calculation takes the total federal spending of $2700 billion and divides by the total US population of 300 million and you come out with a $9000 bill per person.

So by this definition of ‘fair’ the average American family of 4 should owe $36000 to the federal government.

If you are currently paying less than $9000 per person in your family then you are being subsidized.

Jim

Dividends are taxed at a lower rate because the corporations that distribute them have already paid tax on the earnings that generated the money – hence the double taxation. Interest income doesn’t have this issue since the bank is merely paying you for the right to use your money.