Tax hikes - Yay or Nay?

[Ed Anger]

Nay

[jimmy olsen]

Return to the Clinton era levels, no higher though.

[crazy canuck]

ROTW other option - You didnt have a "dont have a view" option.  I dont know nearly enough about your tax structure to have an opinion.  What I do know is that your tax structure is so complex I doubt most people know enough to have an informed view.

[KRonn]

We need some taxes to feed this beast but that goes along with restructuring the tax code and cuts or restructuring on areas of spending that need it.

[merithyn]

ROTW other option - You didnt have a "dont have a view" option.  I dont know nearly enough about your tax structure to have an opinion.  What I do know is that your tax structure is so complex I doubt most people know enough to have an informed view.

Heh. Those of us who have to file our taxes every year know quite a bit about them, I'd think. Certainly, we know what's a tax write-off versus what isn't.

EDIT: And the "ROTW - What do I care? I live in a Utopian Socialist Society." covers your "dont have a view" option.

[crazy canuck]

ROTW other option - You didnt have a "dont have a view" option.  I dont know nearly enough about your tax structure to have an opinion.  What I do know is that your tax structure is so complex I doubt most people know enough to have an informed view.

Heh. Those of us who have to file our taxes every year know quite a bit about them, I'd think. Certainly, we know what's a tax write-off versus what isn't.

EDIT: And the "ROTW - What do I care? I live in a Utopian Socialist Society." covers your "dont have a view" option.

I doubt very much that doing your own taxes provides you with much information regarding the many and various methods available to higher income earners to avoid taxes and it provides you with no information at all regarding corporate taxation.

[merithyn]

I doubt very much that doing your own taxes provides you with much information regarding the many and various methods available to higher income earners to avoid taxes and it provides you with no information at all regarding corporate taxation.

I know the percentage of my income that I pay in taxes. I'm okay with paying more. I know that people who make a hell of a lot more than I do pay even less than I do, percentage-wise.

I'm okay with saying that I think we should raise taxes based on that. I don't care if you are or not.

[crazy canuck]

I doubt very much that doing your own taxes provides you with much information regarding the many and various methods available to higher income earners to avoid taxes and it provides you with no information at all regarding corporate taxation.

I know the percentage of my income that I pay in taxes. I'm okay with paying more. I know that people who make a hell of a lot more than I do pay even less than I do, percentage-wise.

I'm okay with saying that I think we should raise taxes based on that. I don't care if you are or not.

Yeah, you are missing the point.  The question isnt what the tax rate ought to be.  The question is how do you construct a fair tax system in which the marginal tax rate is actually paid rather than avoided.  The answer to that question is often not raising the marginal rate as a higher marginal rate increases the likelihood that high income earners will spend the resources necessary to avoid that marginal rate.

The question is how do you construct a tax system in which people actually pay their fair share.

[merithyn]

Yeah, you are missing the point.  The question isnt what the tax rate ought to be.  The question is how do you construct a fair tax system in which the marginal tax rate is actually paid rather than avoided.  The answer to that question is often not raising the marginal rate as a higher marginal rate increases the likelihood that high income earners will spend the resources necessary to avoid that marginal rate.

The question is how do you construct a tax system in which people actually pay their fair share.

No, that's actually not the question. Since I wrote it, I'm pretty sure that I know what I was asking.

Lemme spell it out for you: Should the US raise it's federal taxes?

Pretty easy, right? Now, that can be interpreted a whole lot of ways - should we revamp our tax codes, should we up the percentage, should we get rid of tax write-offs, etc. - but the question I asked was pretty straight forward.

Now, if you want to ask the other questions, that's great! It's a good discussion. But it's not what I asked.

[garbon]

I doubt very much that doing your own taxes provides you with much information regarding the many and various methods available to higher income earners to avoid taxes and it provides you with no information at all regarding corporate taxation.

I know the percentage of my income that I pay in taxes. I'm okay with paying more. I know that people who make a hell of a lot more than I do pay even less than I do, percentage-wise.

I'm okay with saying that I think we should raise taxes based on that. I don't care if you are or not.

Some people who make a hell of a lot more than you do pay even less than you do, percentage-wise.  There are also plenty of them that pay way more, percentage-wise than you.

[merithyn]

I doubt very much that doing your own taxes provides you with much information regarding the many and various methods available to higher income earners to avoid taxes and it provides you with no information at all regarding corporate taxation.

I know the percentage of my income that I pay in taxes. I'm okay with paying more. I know that people who make a hell of a lot more than I do pay even less than I do, percentage-wise.

I'm okay with saying that I think we should raise taxes based on that. I don't care if you are or not.

Some people who make a hell of a lot more than you do pay even less than you do, percentage-wise.  There are also plenty of them that pay way more, percentage-wise than you.

Yes. That is true.

That does not change my opinion.

[crazy canuck]

Yes Meri.  We can all read.  The thing you need to understand is your question misses the most fundamental issue in most tax codes.  Marginal rates are meaningless if the tax code permits high income earners to avoid the marginal tax percentage and the higher the marginal tax percentage the more incentive high income earners have to avoid it.

So go ahead and make the assumption that raising marginal tax rates will increase tax revenue.  But dont be surprised if you assumption doesnt come true.

[Sheilbh]

I don't think there's any desperate need to raise taxes. The deficits under control and falling and the debt's under control and set to fall in about 2 years time.

Personally I wouldn't worry about rates so much. I'd suggest moving to a PAYE system for employment income tax and a big reform of corporation tax to make the US more competitive on that front. And, because I always favour it, some tax simplification.

[garbon]

I doubt very much that doing your own taxes provides you with much information regarding the many and various methods available to higher income earners to avoid taxes and it provides you with no information at all regarding corporate taxation.

I know the percentage of my income that I pay in taxes. I'm okay with paying more. I know that people who make a hell of a lot more than I do pay even less than I do, percentage-wise.

I'm okay with saying that I think we should raise taxes based on that. I don't care if you are or not.

Some people who make a hell of a lot more than you do pay even less than you do, percentage-wise.  There are also plenty of them that pay way more, percentage-wise than you.

Yes. That is true.

That does not change my opinion.

Well the same has me saying "No way, no how"

[DGuller]

Of course, your taxes are too low. But which one?

What you really need is a Product & Service Tax of 5-8%

I'd be okay with taxes being on par with how they were in the 1960s, plus adding a VAT. I've long thought we've been stupid not to have that.

The top rates were 90% back then, which is a little excessive.