(no subject)
I've talked about hemmoraging value before. I've talked about certain types of protectionism before. I haven't talked about the concept of paying taxes voluntarily as being patiotic. I won't go into that specific concept at the moment.
What I will talk about is this story.
Long and short? 34.1% worldwide tax rate last year for an American megacompany, Goldman Sachs. 1% this year. And the government gave them money. And a large portion of the decrease in tax is not, from the gyst of the story, due to non-tax status of bailout money: it's from transferring activities overseas.
Here's the thing. And now I'm going to inadvertently get into it when I didn't want to, necessarily. Taking American money, taken from American wages, American labor, American innovation, American legal protection and organization, and American market protections, and using it to fund overseas operations that pay overseas wages, overseas building, overseas prosperity... that is not patriotic. I'm sorry. I'm a protectionist in many ways. And this is a might bit offensive to me that we have a swath of our economy owned by these people that are paying next to nothing in taxes right now. Sure, Last Year 34.1% is high. Over 1/3. But the question becomes what the tax rate is on the limited liability for a California corporation that makes $5 net profit in a year? 1,760%. $800 net profit? 100%. Wait: over each of those, because that's only state tax, not just federal tax.
So, my conclusion: worst idea: minimum taxes. Best idea: straight percentages without methods by which richer companies and individuals can find ways around rules.
And by the way, a universal sales tax is a minimum tax. It hurts the poor disproportionately more. And making the system so that the poor are the ones that have to do paperwork to get exemptions is a ridiculous idea, since the poor are the ones least capable of that said-same paperwork. You know, while I'm on this.
So there that is. I don't believe it is patriotic to look for ways to pay less in taxes. It is patriotic to try to decrease the amount of taxes people have to pay while simultaneously decreasing spending. It is patriotic to question tax systems and question the government. But, yes, paying for the benefits we receive, even if we feel like, as individuals we use all of those benefits, is patriotic. And on that, and limited to the context in which I think on it and framed the way I think on it, I will agree that paying more in taxes is "patriotic."
I'm not "patriotic" by the way. I'm a bit nationalistic, maybe. But I'm more tribal.
So, with argument, this might get refined, but that's all I can say here at work, with the clock a-tickin'.
What I will talk about is this story.
Long and short? 34.1% worldwide tax rate last year for an American megacompany, Goldman Sachs. 1% this year. And the government gave them money. And a large portion of the decrease in tax is not, from the gyst of the story, due to non-tax status of bailout money: it's from transferring activities overseas.
Here's the thing. And now I'm going to inadvertently get into it when I didn't want to, necessarily. Taking American money, taken from American wages, American labor, American innovation, American legal protection and organization, and American market protections, and using it to fund overseas operations that pay overseas wages, overseas building, overseas prosperity... that is not patriotic. I'm sorry. I'm a protectionist in many ways. And this is a might bit offensive to me that we have a swath of our economy owned by these people that are paying next to nothing in taxes right now. Sure, Last Year 34.1% is high. Over 1/3. But the question becomes what the tax rate is on the limited liability for a California corporation that makes $5 net profit in a year? 1,760%. $800 net profit? 100%. Wait: over each of those, because that's only state tax, not just federal tax.
So, my conclusion: worst idea: minimum taxes. Best idea: straight percentages without methods by which richer companies and individuals can find ways around rules.
And by the way, a universal sales tax is a minimum tax. It hurts the poor disproportionately more. And making the system so that the poor are the ones that have to do paperwork to get exemptions is a ridiculous idea, since the poor are the ones least capable of that said-same paperwork. You know, while I'm on this.
So there that is. I don't believe it is patriotic to look for ways to pay less in taxes. It is patriotic to try to decrease the amount of taxes people have to pay while simultaneously decreasing spending. It is patriotic to question tax systems and question the government. But, yes, paying for the benefits we receive, even if we feel like, as individuals we use all of those benefits, is patriotic. And on that, and limited to the context in which I think on it and framed the way I think on it, I will agree that paying more in taxes is "patriotic."
I'm not "patriotic" by the way. I'm a bit nationalistic, maybe. But I'm more tribal.
So, with argument, this might get refined, but that's all I can say here at work, with the clock a-tickin'.