"The Rich" Don't Pay Taxes? Yeah Right!
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
October 29, 2007 4:47am CST
I keep hearing people go on and on about how "the rich" in the US don't pay their fair share of taxes. Let's look at that farce, shall we?
First of all we'll look at the direct taxes. The top 5% pay 53% of the taxes, but you've already read that in a million other postings, so let's go beyond that here.
The reason "The Rich" keep the fires of the economy burning isn't about how much they pay in taxes, it's how much wealth they generate... in other words, it's not about how much money "the rich" amass... it's how much wealth is generated for everyone because they are "the rich".
Let's use Bill Gates for example. He started out, as we all know, in a garage with a computer, he ended up the richest man in the world.
Even if the income taxes from his $56 Billion net worth was all there was to the story, it would be impressive. However, that's only the beginning of the dollars his enterprizes have added to the Federal Treasury.
He pays taxes, his company, Microsoft pays corporate taxes, each of the employees of Microsoft pay income taxes.
For any company there is a supply and support base. Someone else sells goods and services to Microsoft. All the companies that supply Microsoft pay corporate taxes, all the employees of all those companies pay income taxes.
Enterprizing people have created businesses using Microsoft products. The companies pay corporate taxes, and the employees of those companies pay income taxes.
Each of those enterprises need to buy goods and services from other companies. Those companies pay corporate taxes and their employees pay income taxes.
Now, take all those taxes and multiply them by every company owned or invested in by "the rich" and please try to keep a straight face when you try to tell me that "the rich" should be paying more taxes.
2 people like this
6 responses
@goodsign (2287)
• Malaysia
29 Oct 07
There are categories of taxes and if we urge the rich to pay more taxes than the current values and systems, the rich will divert their investments to other country which offer them more incentives under FDI(Foreign Direct Investments) scheme.
Rather than facing that new creative and innovative problems that may perform by the rich, better offer them new tax incentives to avoid them from producing false statement on tax assessment. Give small fishes to get big fish.
Without tax payer, one country will loss the internal source of income.
2 people like this
@Destiny007 (5805)
• United States
29 Oct 07
Yeah, but this fact doesn't make a good talking point to liberals who are seeking an excuse to raise more taxes.
It is hard to make the point that rich people don't pay their share and get special tax breaks if you tell truths such as this.
So the lying liberals kept lying, and the liberal sheeple keep believing because they all want to stick it to the evil rich.
Those rich liberals who keep wanting to raise taxes can do so because their money is safely invested in off shore enterprises and shielded so it can't be taxed.
Meanwhile, this tax increases for the rich always seem to include higher taxes for everyone... so to sweeten the pot the liberals will put some tax credit into law that makes the refunds seem bigger when it comes time to file.
Who is it that keeps raising taxes?.... That would be the tax and spend democrats.
Look at the democrat candidates...every one of them plan to raise taxes.
1 person likes this
@ladyluna (7004)
• United States
29 Oct 07
Hey Destiny007,
Regarding your statement: "Those rich liberals who keep wanting to raise taxes can do so because their money is safely invested in off shore enterprises and shielded so it can't be taxed."
Did you hear the news out of Ireland about the music group U2, and global spokesman for the poor, Bono? The Irish are livid because U2 moved their corpororate interests out of Ireland, so as to avoid paying the higher Irish taxes. Yet, Bono is still perceived as the savior of the poor.
The speculation is that the bandmembers, and their manager are unnamed employees of the corporation, now no longer subject to their own Irish income taxes. People in Ireland are really t'd off about this. This is just a perfect case-in-point of your observation. Another is the Clinton's parking huge personal financial reserves in the Dominican Republic, so as to not have to pay higher USA taxes.
Yet, it's just fine to expect everyone else to pay higher taxes. It's hypocrisy at its finest.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
29 Oct 07
So Bono and the boys join Michael Moore in proving that even self avowed socialists are better off living a capitalist lifestyle. ;~D
1 person likes this
@MGjhaud (23240)
• Philippines
7 Nov 07
Well that happens to rich people but some are caught. Sometimes I would hear some celebrity names that didn’t pay taxes few years back and took the battle in court trying to come clean or whatever. I also have a not-so-close friend who was charged last year for not paying taxes since he started his business.
@ladyluna (7004)
• United States
29 Oct 07
Hello ParaTed,
Excellent example and explanation of 'trickle-down economics'.
Still, for so very many reasons, I'd really like to see the USA convert from an income tax to a consumption tax. Then every individual and organization will pay taxes, based on what they consume. As the system is now, not everyone does. For example how many bogus 501-C3's are there out there that really don't qualify as a charitable organization, yet get tax-exempt status? What about the 'earned income tax credit' countering the amount that some low income families pay in any tax. Or, the non-producing super-rich -- you know the one's who live off of interest and produce nothing -- like the trust fund babies? They park their accumulated wealth in non-taxable, interest earning bonds. And, they never pay a single penny in income tax because of it.
There are a some categorically low-income people who also 'work under the table'. That cheating is never accounted for, and if it were they might not be eligible for any subsidies.
Plus, the whole concept of taxing one's labor and luck just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I think it's far fairer to tax what we all consume -- individual and organization alike.
A consumption tax would also eliminate the constant attempts to outwit the IRS by way of deductions.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to explain the trickle down theory. I suspect that there are many who really don't understand just how much wealthy entrepreneurs contribute to society. Nicely done!
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
29 Oct 07
Actually, this isn't "trickle down" economics. Trickle Down economics is the theory that the more "the rich" make, the more they spend, and that income trickles down to everyone else.
This isn't a trickle down, or even a theory. This is a group of absolute facts. A healthy economy isn't about how much people make or how much they pay in taxes, it is about how much wealth can be created. Bill Gates is worth $56 Billion dollars, but the amount of wealth created in amassing that net worth is.. well, beyond my ability to calculate.
@southernpixie (741)
• United States
29 Oct 07
I don't know why so many people think that the rich should pay more taxes. In my opinion, they pay more of their fair share. Most people who are wealthy have money because they worked for it (I say "most" because there are people like Paris Hilton who have never really worked for anything in their life). I don't know why the focus is always on wealthy people. I'd like to see the focus shifted to why people make a career out of living on welfare. (Oh and by the way, I am not rich by any means lol..very middle class actually :) )
@buliangxianren (425)
• China
29 Oct 07
i know the words kill the rich to help the poor. i think it is the mind of many people here. (i don't know whether is the same there.) at the begining i can not understand the reason. they do the same and tay to get more. it is not wrong .and it seems not fair to them. but at last i know it. we admit they have more wealth because they are hard . but do you understand the more they get ,the more people are working for them .and do you think they can live only if they do not repay more.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
29 Oct 07
So we should make them "pay until it hurts", even if it has been proven that tax cuts increase federal revenues?
That sounds like nothing but class warfare bigotry to me.
