No Spreadsheet Needed

[tommcginnis]

Most of the tax policy of the US is based upon one principle... "The government wants your money and has the power to take it". No further justification required or offered.... including "reasonableness" or "fairness".

What's reasonable or fair about any of that?

I disagree entirely -- and without any snark or anything: the decline of any sort of "civic" discussion in the U.S. means that there is little input from the general public when revenues are discussed. So, by our own fault, we have "Don't tax you -- don't tax me: Tax that man behind the tree!" as our guiding principle. Them as are in the room, set the rules. The rest of us are voiceless victims -- including (per this discussion) the dead.

That's why the classes I taught were *fully* titled "Principles of Public Finance" rather than "Re'al Politik of Public Finance" -- the fun stuff gets saved for the graduate students.....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_voter_theorem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit,_Voice,_and_Loyalty
(Why yes! I do love Wikipedia!)

 

[SunTrader]

What happens when your principles are opposite of my principles, and we contradict the principles of a third person.

How do we resolve those issues? In other words, by what standards should principles be set? Or maybe said better, how does/should a person come to his principles?

My principles were passed down from the founding fathers ... more freedom not less.

Which in turn means keeping more of the fruits of my labor not less.

 

[wildflower]

According to this guy, no one in the USA with an average accountant pays this tax. It appears to be for show to the masses. Although I am no expert on European taxes, in France for example they have tried to do away with dynasties [which from the French Revolution on is repulsive to the French] and have a progressive tax rate.

https://www.french-property.com/guides/france/finance-taxation/taxation/capital-gains-tax/

The French are careful to close loopholes that exist in the US by classifying just about anything as "property", and then taxing it accordingly.

So for example, if you have a €50,000,000 Renoir hanging on your wall, you have to pay yearly taxes on that painting. slams the door on "Estate planning" of the wealthy.

'Only morons pay the estate tax,' says White House's Gary Cohn

12:55 PM ET Tue, 29 Aug 2017
The estate tax is a 40 percent levy applied to the portion of an estate valued at over $5.49 million for individuals or $10.98 million for couples.

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/08/...e-estate-tax-says-white-houses-gary-cohn.html

The Estate Tax stands at 20%, and these people want to lower it further.

Ask a simple question.

Note how the guy dodges the question continuously, pretending he doesn't understand by answering a different question, repeatedly. All he has to do is survive the limited time by obfuscating it up with pure and utter shit.

In spite of all that, this guy Mulvaney folds like a lawn chair.

 

[Overnight]

This, at 45 seconds in...

 

[wildflower]