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‘We Are Part of the Problem’


aztek

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‘We Are Part of the Problem’: Billionaires and Heirs Demand Wealth Tax.

(Bloomberg) -- They’re an eclectic bunch -- some of the nation’s most privileged heirs alongside entrepreneurs who have made spectacular fortunes in real estate, finance and Silicon Valley. But collectively they’re united on the need to tax more of the richest Americans’ assets.

“We are writing to call on all candidates for President, whether they are Republicans or Democrats, to support a moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the richest one-tenth of the richest 1% of Americans -- on us,” according to a letter signed by 19 individuals -- one anonymously -- and posted online Monday. “The next dollar of new tax revenue should come from the most financially fortunate, not from middle-income and lower-income Americans.”

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/billionaires-soros-pritzker-heirs-call-120429291.html

 

anyone else think it's nothing but PR stunts, or is it just me? if they want to pay more, they can send a check to IRS today. but they do not.

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As a an act of good faith, some of the biggest corps should start paying taxes period instead of hiding their wealth in other countries or tax shelters. There is untold billions being withheld from the economy by greedy big tech companies.

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3 minutes ago, aztek said:

if they want to pay more, they can send a check to IRS today. but they do not.

As soon as I saw the headline, this was my first thought before I read to the bottom.  I can't be sure of their motivation, which is why I didn't quote the part about PR stunts, but it did occur to me that for them donating was not enough, they wanted to impose this on other rich people who may not believe the same way.  Rich people donate to a lot of things dear to them but they don't seem to try to force others to go along.  Only when it comes to the government.

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13 minutes ago, Big Jim said:

they wanted to impose this on other rich people who may not believe the same way.  Rich people donate to a lot of things dear to them but they don't seem to try to force others to go along.  Only when it comes to the government.

Every law and tax that is ever passed is imposed on some people who may not believe the same way.  Some rich people would like to force others to go along, but thankfully the government protects us from that to some extent.

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15 minutes ago, aztek said:

‘We Are Part of the Problem’: Billionaires and Heirs Demand Wealth Tax.

(Bloomberg) -- They’re an eclectic bunch -- some of the nation’s most privileged heirs alongside entrepreneurs who have made spectacular fortunes in real estate, finance and Silicon Valley. But collectively they’re united on the need to tax more of the richest Americans’ assets.

“We are writing to call on all candidates for President, whether they are Republicans or Democrats, to support a moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the richest one-tenth of the richest 1% of Americans -- on us,” according to a letter signed by 19 individuals -- one anonymously -- and posted online Monday. “The next dollar of new tax revenue should come from the most financially fortunate, not from middle-income and lower-income Americans.”

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/billionaires-soros-pritzker-heirs-call-120429291.html

 

anyone else think it's nothing but PR stunts, or is it just me? if they want to pay more, they can send a check to IRS today. but they do not.

It's complete BS and will possibly make thing worse.  The reason is because these ultra wealthy guys know the government doesn't spend tax money, they borrow money and promise to pay it back with tax revenue.  If this happens "the government" will get it in it's little head that with all this unexpected tax revenue (which will still only be a fraction of the whole) they may now borrow more dollars than ever before to fund their wasteful and poorly ran departments, projects, and con-jobs.

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27 minutes ago, Dark_Grey said:

As a an act of good faith, some of the biggest corps should start paying taxes period instead of hiding their wealth in other countries or tax shelters. There is untold billions being withheld from the economy by greedy big tech companies.

That's just not true.  They do as they are allowed according to the law.  Do you pay taxes that the government doesn't require of you?  Why should anyone do that?  It's the laws that are wrong, not the corporations.

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4 minutes ago, OverSword said:

That's just not true.  They do as they are allowed according to the law.  Do you pay taxes that the government doesn't require of you?  Why should anyone do that?  It's the laws that are wrong, not the corporations.

Fair enough. Loopholes aren't technically illegal, they are just "holes". In the loop.

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As long as there are governments in small countries, who speculate in making tax havens, the filthy rich will always have a place to add a few extra zeroes to their ridiculously enormous fortune. That is why other governments are afraid to tax extra.

They are the problem! Other countries should sanction them! They are as damaging to the world as Iran and North Korea.

Edited by sci-nerd
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7 minutes ago, sci-nerd said:

As long as there are governments in small countries, who speculate in making tax havens, the filthy rich will always have a place to add a few extra zeroes to their ridiculously enormous fortune. That is why other governments are afraid to tax extra.

They are the problem! Other countries should sanction them! They are as damaging to the world as Iran and North Korea.

So you think wealthy politicians will sanction the countries providing tax havens for them?  Nope.

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3 minutes ago, OverSword said:

So you think wealthy politicians will sanction the countries providing tax havens for them?  Nope.

That is where democracy could play a rare key role. Politicians refusing this would be a part of the problem, and would not be reelected.

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25 minutes ago, sci-nerd said:

That is where democracy could play a rare key role. Politicians refusing this would be a part of the problem, and would not be reelected.

Well that's a nice theory but the truth is as long as the vast majority of the people vote either democrat or republican they will vote for whoever those parties are running.  They make you a big poop sandwich, tell you it tastes great and you eat it with a smile.

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Nonething is stopping them from doing a 1 percent donation lol

If they really believe they should...

Edited by spartan max2
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1 minute ago, OverSword said:

Well that's a nice theory but the truth is as long as the vast majority of the people vote either democrat or republican they will vote for whoever those parties are running.  They make you a big poop sandwich, tell you it tastes great and you eat it with a smile.

Then we deserve no better.

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1 hour ago, Liquid Gardens said:

Every law and tax that is ever passed is imposed on some people who may not believe the same way.  Some rich people would like to force others to go along, but thankfully the government protects us from that to some extent.

I understand that, that's why I view their proposal with suspicion.  It's one thing for the government to impose taxes, we give them that permission.  It's quite another for an individual to suggest it and then compel others in his class to go along.  Nobody elected him.

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1 hour ago, OverSword said:

That's just not true.  They do as they are allowed according to the law.  Do you pay taxes that the government doesn't require of you?  Why should anyone do that?  It's the laws that are wrong, not the corporations.

I don't see where corporations ever pay taxes.  Any taxes imposed on them, plus licensing fees, insurance, etc. are all costs that are figured into the price of their product.  We pay their taxes with every purchase, whatever is left is their profit.  Take away the profit and you take away their reason for existing.  Then nothing gets taxed.

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Pre 2018  the corporate tax rate was the highest in the world at 35%.  So what they did was put their money in an offshore account. In 2018 the new tax rate was 23% and all that money came back to the tune of about 3 trillion dollars. So, we were getting a big goose egg in tax revenue from offshore accounts at the 35% rate, now we're getting 23% of an extra 3 trillion.

As for the op, there are a lot of charities to donate to! 

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1 hour ago, sci-nerd said:

As long as there are governments in small countries, who speculate in making tax havens, the filthy rich will always have a place to add a few extra zeroes to their ridiculously enormous fortune. That is why other governments are afraid to tax extra.

They are the problem! Other countries should sanction them! They are as damaging to the world as Iran and North Korea.

do you realize they own other countries?, and those that are tax heaves too.

Edited by aztek
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13 minutes ago, Stardrive said:

 for the op, there are a lot of charities to donate to! 

An awful lot of rich folks seem to do just that.  Whenever I watch something on PBS the list of credits includes all the major donors to the program.  Most towns seem to have theaters, stadiums, museums, etc.  adorned with the names of local philanthropists.  I'm sure many choose to remain anonymous.  This is why I've never understood all the public hatred for the rich.  We hear of "greedy capitalists" and "robber barons" and the supposed evil that they do but so seldom are we reminded of all the good that a large number of them do.  A lot of them became rich by providing the public with something that makes life not only possible but easier and more enjoyable as well.  The irony is that there is hardly a single person who hates them who wouldn't trade places in an instant if given the chance.

Edited by Big Jim
removing redundancy
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1 hour ago, Big Jim said:

I understand that, that's why I view their proposal with suspicion.  It's one thing for the government to impose taxes, we give them that permission.  It's quite another for an individual to suggest it and then compel others in his class to go along.  Nobody elected him.

I'm not sure that a billionaire can 'compel' another billionaire, they are typically of fairly equal power.  I'm unclear why 'nobody elected him' is pointed at billionaires sharing opinions about tax policy and not at everyone who has any political opinion, including you and I discussing tax policy here.

1 hour ago, Big Jim said:

We pay their taxes with every purchase, whatever is left is their profit. 

Interesting, I don't think I necessarily disagree with you but using this logic don't our employers (or clients or customers depending on your occupation) pay your taxes with your wages/salary?

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2 hours ago, OverSword said:
3 hours ago, Dark_Grey said:

As a an act of good faith, some of the biggest corps should start paying taxes period instead of hiding their wealth in other countries or tax shelters. There is untold billions being withheld from the economy by greedy big tech companies.

That's just not true.  They do as they are allowed according to the law.  Do you pay taxes that the government doesn't require of you?  Why should anyone do that?  It's the laws that are wrong, not the corporations.

They do what the law allows, the result is that they don't pay taxes.

These are some of the knobs and dials you adjust on the economic machine.

When you want growth and job creation and a vibrant economy, you turn a knob so that there are tax deductions and incentives to grow the economy.

When so much money slops over that it is not used to stimulate the economy but rather taken out of the system and made idle, then it is a  wasted resource and you turn the knob back a little.

Tax rates are not uniform, and special deductions have been crafted for some industries.,there is some fine tuning on the dials knobs.   

You don't have to increase total revenue, you just adjust what income levels int comes from.  Or Big Idea, you could pay down the national debt.

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1 hour ago, Liquid Gardens said:

I'm not sure that a billionaire can 'compel' another billionaire, they are typically of fairly equal power.  I'm unclear why 'nobody elected him' is pointed at billionaires sharing opinions about tax policy and not at everyone who has any political opinion, including you and I discussing tax policy here.

Interesting, I don't think I necessarily disagree with you but using this logic don't our employers (or clients or customers depending on your occupation) pay your taxes with your wages/salary?

Because that's the topic of the thread.  By sending their suggestion to the government that higher taxes should be imposed on "people like us" the original 19 were openly trying to compel others in their class to pay the taxes they deemed appropriate.  

In a sense we all pay each others' taxes, but the difference with corporations is that they get to set the price for their goods to include the taxes.  Most workers get paid the prevailing wage in their chosen field and if expenses, including taxes, go up they can't just increase their pay on their own.  It reduces their net income, their profit, while corporations can pass it on and not have to reduce their profit.

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12 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

When so much money slops over that it is not used to stimulate the economy but rather taken out of the system and made idle, then it is a  wasted resource and you turn the knob back a little.

That's what I have a problem with. Sure, the tax loopholes are technically legal but it is an immoral way to manage tax dollars. They say right now is the greatest economic disparity between classes in all of human history - it's really hard to argue that. Thankfully, the general quality of life is also much higher than ever which softens the blow a little.

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Nobody would need to pay more taxes if we just decreased the ridiculous amount we waste on defense spending.

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38 minutes ago, Robotic Jew said:

Nobody would need to pay more taxes if we just decreased the ridiculous amount we waste on defense spending.

Without a good defense eventually we would be paying taxes to someone else.  

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17 minutes ago, Big Jim said:

Without a good defense eventually we would be paying taxes to someone else.  

There's a HUGE amount that could be cut before we even get close to that possibility.

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