Taxing the rich...yeah, that works...

[Steve]

No I think everyone should pay the same amount regardless of income level. A nice flat tax rate of say 15%. Then the give the govt the budget and say you can't borrow more you have X amount of money this year deal with it.

And I'm with you, completely. But once again, a flat tax would not be advantageous to the rich. If it was, we'd already have it. Again, there is ample criticism of the poor, whom you yourself made a point of saying do not pay taxes. But you continue to ignore the fact that there are thousands of people who earn in the top 20% who pay zero taxes, not even counting those who pay far, far less than their presumed tax rate.

I think a flat tax is a terrific idea. In addition to saving countless dollars in administration, reduce our need for a large federal agency in the form of the IRS, it would also be very, very fair. Right, billcihak?

 

[WC_lun]

Actually the poor do pay taxes, even if they fall below the threshhold to pay income tax. A much larger portion of thier income goes to living expenses and much of that is taxed. That is why a pure flat tax has been shown to effectthe poor more than anyone else. Now there are ways to fix that, such as exzempting income up to a certain level from the flat tax, but then you will have people throwing a fit about the poor not paying income tax.

 

[granfire]

Actually the poor do pay taxes, even if they fall below the threshhold to pay income tax. A much larger portion of thier income goes to living expenses and much of that is taxed. That is why a pure flat tax has been shown to effectthe poor more than anyone else. Now there are ways to fix that, such as exzempting income up to a certain level from the flat tax, but then you will have people throwing a fit about the poor not paying income tax.

yeah, damn those people, why don't they earn more money so we can tax them fairly?

 

[ballen0351]

Actually the poor do pay taxes, even if they fall below the threshhold to pay income tax. A much larger portion of thier income goes to living expenses and much of that is taxed. That is why a pure flat tax has been shown to effectthe poor more than anyone else. Now there are ways to fix that, such as exzempting income up to a certain level from the flat tax, but then you will have people throwing a fit about the poor not paying income tax.

Well actually they don't. With things like earned income tax credits they get back all they paid in and in some cases like my sister get back more then they paid in. So they may pay taxes from payroll but when you get it all back then in effect they pay nothing.

 

[ballen0351]

And I'm with you, completely. But once again, a flat tax would not be advantageous to the rich. If it was, we'd already have it. Again, there is ample criticism of the poor, whom you yourself made a point of saying do not pay taxes. But you continue to ignore the fact that there are thousands of people who earn in the top 20% who pay zero taxes, not even counting those who pay far, far less than their presumed tax rate.

I think a flat tax is a terrific idea. In addition to saving countless dollars in administration, reduce our need for a large federal agency in the form of the IRS, it would also be very, very fair. Right, billcihak?

I'm not ignoring anything I've already said everyone should pay taxes including the rich and the poor. My personal preference is a federal sales tax so you get tax revenue from all illegal sources as well like drug money