Tax Rates

[SHRED]

[bumbum]

1. The problem is that the high tax rates never got assessed on anywhere near the real income

People hid income all the time. Virtually nobody paid the top tax rate; they hid their income. Bringing down the tax rate brought the money out of the shadows and America was able to tax it.

[SmileyRose]

2. Only partly true.

Most of the money that "came out of the shadows" will never be taxed anyway - it just gets passed from one generation to the next. The money that gets taxed is only the dividends of that - and only part of that will ever be taxed because of a gazillion loopholes.

They slash the tax rates on the uppermost 5%, cut services to the bone and raise taxes for the other 95% to do it. We are told we have to cut cut cut taxes and services to save the economy --- well I'd like to know WHO'S economy are we saving? Because I have news for you tax slashing advocates -- every damn time you folks slashed taxes MY economy got WORSE.

[pinb1212]

3. It's not hiding.

In our history, we've had very high tax rates for the very rich. But.....we have also had deductions and write offs available that made sure almost no one paid taxes at that top rate.

[cascadiance]

15. That was until they dropped the top marginal tax rates from over 90% to just over 70%...

When Kennedy cleaned up a lot of those deductions. Top marginal tax rates were STILL over double what they are now!

Hmm... We have a number of posters with low post counts on this thread. Sense we have some "infiltrators" here! :)

[csziggy]

22. The rich paid a lot of money to accountants, investment advisors and tax lawyers

To find all those loopholes. In the end, all the money they paid to avoid taxes amounted to a large percentage of how much they would have had to actually pay the taxes without the shenanigans. What it did do was create an industry of deception in financial investment that had to find another way to survive once the tax rates went down.

So when was it that all the private retirement funds get started? Weren't most of them created about the same time the tax rates for the upper incomes slashed?

[Mojambo]

31. Very well put. n/t

[unblock]

19. they didn't "hide" money so much as "shelter" it

the government carved out many ways for rich people to put their money to work in ways deemed to be a good idea by the government, and for this they were rewarded with huge deductions and credits to lower their taxes.

these were "loopholes" or "managing the economy through the tax code" depending on your perspective.

in lowering the rates and reducing these provisions, they cut out a lot of unproductive loopholes, but they also lost the ability to manage (and stabilize) the economy.

[alittlelark]

25. That's why we need to INVADE THE CAYMANS

It's a war I can get behind. It will take 45 seconds, a few satellites, and thousands of software specialists.


There will be no deaths.




Then we will move on to Switzerland etc.

[TahitiNut]

28. As a scuba diver, I'd volunteer to be part of the occupation forces.

:dunce:

[Mojambo]

4. I suspect that higher top marginal rates also produce a more steady economy.

Bubble economies really didn't become nearly as frequent until we started slashing the rates the rich pay.

Rich bastards will gamble with huge excesses of income.

[bumbum]

5. "rich bastards" Who is that? Anybody with a car, job, and a home? NT

[Mojambo]

6. See Goldman Sachs. n/t

[bumbum]

7. So rich bastards are people with a job, TWO cars, and TWO houses. NT

[Mojambo]

8. LOL.

If you think those guys only have two houses you're crazy.

Hell, McCain had like 7 and he's a pauper compared to those cats.

[bumbum]

9. So you want to take everything away from those undeserving "rich bastards", eh? NT

[Mojambo]

14. Yep.I'm a big mean scary socialist!

Booga Booga!

Chump.

[Oregone]

23. Yeah, sure.

A job paying a million+ a year, two $100K+ cars and two 20000 SQFT homes

[TahitiNut]

10. Peddle the pseudo-libertarian talking points elsewhere, please. Income over $350,000/year ...

... is HARDLY such a "middle class" caricature. It's less than 1% of taxpayers ... and may have annual incomes in six figures. Further, that top rate ONLY applies to the income in EXCESS of $350,000.

[bumbum]

11. Ya, how dare they actually make a very fine income in this grand country where you can. NT

[TahitiNut]

12. Are you under some impression that 40%=100%? Are you under the impression that a "tax" is a "fine"?

If so, you're an imbecile.

[bumbum]

13. If I were an imbecile I would be whining about what other people make. NT

[TahitiNut]

16. If you see "whining," you're an imbecile.

:shrug:

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HughBeaumont]

21. Nice paraphrase. Wanna know where that came from?

The Grandaddy of Dereg himself, Phil Gramm. One of your heroes that got us balls deep into this mess.

History, once again, is not on the side of your sad-ass theories or talking points. Is it any wonder Republicans and Libertarians are almost always fiscally comfortable males with a not-so-slightly prejudicial and judgemental bend?

[TahitiNut]

29. (Shoot. I missed it.)

:shrug: It went >poof< before I got back. (If only its origin would, as well.)

[HughBeaumont]

32. "This board is full of WHINERS!"

. . . or something to that effect.

Our mods = awesome. They've had to clean a lot of bad rubbish up as of late, no?

[Wednesdays]

27. You might try...

a Republican web site. After all, they never whine there, do they?

[TahitiNut]

30. Pizza delivered.

:bounce:

[Mojambo]

17. It IS a great country. So don't be a fucking freeloader.

Libertarians are such fucking freeloaders.

[HughBeaumont]

18. Grand country where money rules and the working class is their ATM recipient.

It's called paying your fair share, something the wealthy haven't done in three decades. All you need to do is look where that hoarding and low taxation led us: the worst 10 year stretch of private sector job creation in 75 years. History is not on the side of your bullshit Friedmanite/Randist theories.

Don't you have a Glenn Beck Show taping to try and get tickets for?

[Oregone]

24. Grand countries need roads, police, educated & healthy workers, etc.

Their ability to pay taxes and remain viable as a class (incredibly viable, mind you) shows that they greatly benefit from the entire social structure compared to what they contribute. Take away the roads, police, and sane working/consumer class, and you have chaos. Their VISA is as valuable on wallstreet as it would be on the streets of Mogidishu. The entire environment and stable marketplace they need to be rich and continue in that direction is dependent on their tax contribution. They get their money worth, time and time again. End of story.

[Wednesdays]

26. Hey, check out my signature...

On edit...I smell pepperoni and green pepper baking in the oven. Yum!