Those poor rich people

[entirelysonja]

The Tax Foundation announced Wednesday that in 2007, more taxes were paid by the top 1% (40% of total income tax revenues) than the bottom 95% (39% of total income tax revenues). They claim that this data "clearly debunks the conventional Beltway rhetoric that the "rich" are not paying their fair share of taxes

Comments

[xerhino]

I pretty much agree with this, except for one line. I think saying things like "Sounds to me like there was still plenty of money left over after paying taxes." detracts from the argument that this tax system is fair because it seems to imply that the tax system doesn't have to be fair so long as rich people have enough money left over. I realize that this is a blog entry and as such it is entirely appropriate to have opinions like that, but it's a pet peeve of mine because I think it weakens the overall argument and galvanizes opponents. Sorry for the soap box rant.

[entirelysonja]

I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at. Perhaps you could explain in more detail?

The reason I said that is because the folks who think our progressive tax system is unfair always seem to be implying that it places an unfair burden on the rich. That it's somehow not appropriate for people who have more to be paying a greater percentage of their income. My point about rich folks still having plenty of money left over after paying their taxes is intended to convey that the tax system is not impoverishing them. It's not as though someone who makes $450,000 a year is being taxed to such an extent that their net income is similar to the net income of someone making, say, $250,000 a year.

[xerhino]

Ah, it comes from a philosophical belief on my part that taxation is only legitimized by benefits or services to the taxee. The rich pay more because they use more services and reap more benefits, either directly or indirectly. Someone who makes a lot of money may only drive the same amount as I do, but to make that kind of money they indirectly utilize the highway systems for corporate deliveries, installations, sales, etc. Added up it is a much higher usage, so paying more transportation tax makes sense. I think that holds for most things that taxes par for (military, education, disaster recovery,...). The more you earn the more you benefit from the services and investments that were paid for by taxes

[entirelysonja]

Ah, it comes from a philosophical belief on my part that taxation is only legitimized by benefits or services to the taxee.

Hmm, I must admit that I've never considered this angle before, and some of the benefits in question are pretty remote. Taxes paid by the rich go, for example, to provide WIC payments for poor mothers and their children. This benefits the rich person only insofar as it benefits that rich person to live in a society where poor mothers and children don't starve to death. We hope, of course, that preventing those children from starving or those parents from pursuing a life of crime will benefit us all. But it's not a very direct relationship.

It seems to me that a lot of people don't perceive that it benefits all of us when everyone has decent health care, food, and housing.

[xerhino]

I'm counting indirect benefit. I only gave one example, taxes that fund transportation benefit even those who drive little (or not at all), but yes, I agree that it benefits us all that the society at large is educated, employed, healthy, ...

[leora]

Personally, I don't understand why so many rich people want to live in a society with greater odds for a nasty pandemic spreading because poor people have to avoid health care.