Comments on Fund My Mutual Fund: Myth: US Corporations Have Among the Highest Tax R...

jsmckenzi, I agree with you - the flat tax is too ...

2008-10-15T18:04:00.000-04:00

jsmckenzi, I agree with you - the flat tax is too linear and punitive for those at the bottom (regressive I believe is the term) - hence the rebate - it could be staggered for each income level in $5K increments or however: i.e. full time making $10K-$15K get the most, $15K-$20K the 2nd most etc. At some point it phases out and its flat over and above that level. Just like it makes no sense to give social security benefits to those with a net worth >$5 million? eh?

jegan I find myself to be relatively smart and when I look at the tax book I find it overwhelming. I just take the previous year's and add this year's numbers over last year's - I am sure I miss a lot of things. Look the average American, God love him, is not that numerically inclined. This mortgage mess showed us that. I can only imagine what goes on tax forms every year when a good portion of people cannot even balance a checkbook. Its probably a lot of fiction.

It is layer upon layer upon layer of stuff added over the year, and it gets bigger each year since no good tax change can be rescinded.

Blue, I don't know the history. I don't want to tax corporations to the ground but 0% for 2/3rds seems "wrong". Even Buffet agrees saying he should not pay less of a % of taxes (since his gains are capital gains) then the Secretary - myself, I'd cut about 2/3rds of government and cut 2/3rds of taxes and start from there. But I'm economically libertarian it appears. Other than defense and basic safety (food/environment) and setting high level rules, pretty much the rest of government is self serving pork as far as I'm concerned. But those who set the rules, control the system. i.e. who sets Senator's pay? Why... the Senators?! If only we all had it that good. Can you imagine what Senate pay would be if it was up for vote every 4 years? lol.

Anyhow what I envision in my long term doomsday is tax burden gets to a point American people cannot take it; we already are going broke on our long term entitlements and throw on top all the infrastructure rebuild we need to do the next 30 years... again, it will be a very interesting few decades ahead. Watch the next year for a preview - states, and local cities are going to have to raise taxes to survive. Big time.
or slash services. Big time.

I've heard that people think the personal Federal ...

2008-10-15T18:03:00.000-04:00

I've heard that people think the personal Federal Tax was established to fund the 1st World War and that after the War, the tax would be repealed. However, as a Nation, we have an earlier start. The first Tax was established during our War of Independence for that purpose.

And, I don't really oppose taxes, however (aside from my little rant about the problems with our reporting system), I do dislike the variety of hidden taxes and use fees, etc. By hiding these 'import duties' 'gas taxes', 'TDX fees' and such, you really never do know how much you are paying. The 'Tax Free Day' is now April 23... So they say! I think it's later..

jegan

The real crime is Income Tax was meant for corpora...

2008-10-15T17:54:00.000-04:00

The real crime is Income Tax was meant for corporations, not citizens. Now our citizens pay the highest percentage of tax while many corporation rape our natural resources (to include people) and contribute NOTHING towards reducing our country's deficit. The only thing they contribute to are special interest groups. That way they can get more and give nothing back. All the burden lies on the people. It's disgusting.

When I hear "flat tax," I think of two things: Ste...

2008-10-15T17:47:00.000-04:00

When I hear "flat tax," I think of two things: Steve Forbes' goofy smile, and H.L. Mencken: "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong."

Flat, sales, and consumption taxes all accomplish the same thing, which is to extract a greater percentage of available income from those who can least afford it.

The 1040EZ is one page, right?

TM... I've been job hunting recently and just noti...

2008-10-15T17:46:00.000-04:00

TM... I've been job hunting recently and just noticed a position in a local Chinese Restaurant... Maybe I'll apply.. It only seems fair..

As far as flat taxes and IRS, the only thing I have to add is that it is absolutely ridiculous that any American should have to pay someone to do their taxes for them or even buy Taxcut. Further, there is something really wrong with our tax system if (as has been written) IRS has a 65% correct response rate when asked for clarification. Lastly, the forms themselves are improperly presented, causing unnecessary confusion.

jegan

yes I think thats the Huckabee plan. Just doing s...

2008-10-15T17:34:00.000-04:00

yes I think thats the Huckabee plan. Just doing something simple on 1 page would eliminate almost the entire IRS - cut out a ton of fat - and increase productivity for the rest of us. Granted, entire pods of jobs in each good sized corporation are devoted to taxes, or how to avoid them so there would be job losses there, and job losses in accountants and the like. Thats the problem with saving money for a society - it causes a lot of lost jobs - many jobs are here just to fight red tape or support the system ;)

Shax,
ok so in the recovery of 2010 we can close all the loopholes? hah. Enforcing rules - how unAmerican.

jegan, I have some thoughts I've outlined many times on the China outsource thing. Some new ones developing as well. That goes to the equality of living standards and wages across countries. At some point a rural poor American might not cost too much more than a city folk in China. The world is flattening by the year. I think people might be surprised how quickly things will change in 5 or 10 years. 1998 seems like eons ago but look how different life is. Mexico was where we had our plants, not China. Etc.

Have you heard of the Fair Tax? It sounds similar ...

2008-10-15T17:17:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of the Fair Tax? It sounds similar to your thoughts on taxes, except it is a consumption tax. No income or capital gains taxes. Just a flat sales tax with a prebate for the poverty level.

Raising taxes (or even enforcing existing ones) is...

2008-10-15T15:59:00.000-04:00

Raising taxes (or even enforcing existing ones) is a great way to turn a recession into a depression.

By the way.. A little off topic, but along the the...

2008-10-15T15:44:00.000-04:00

By the way.. A little off topic, but along the theme of the 'pooring of America' I came across a couple of items I thought you might be interested in:

- Interesting and probably good news from 'MutualsAdvisor.com'
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Here's a welcome trend: U.S. companies moving their manufacturing from China to the U.S. Exxel Outdoors found it would be 3% cheaper to move its sleeping bag manufacturing facility from China to Alabama. A rise in the yuan made materials more expensive. Rising wages in China and shipping costs were also factors.

Today it's sleeping bags. But down the line, both Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) plan to increase, production and purchasing in the U.S. And Ikea opened its first factory in the U.S. in May.

-oOo-

- Not sure what to make of this news... Could mean that people are spending the dregs of their 401K on movie tickets or are just pining for the good ol’ days. Time to buy Regal Theaters?
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Since last year we’ve heard rumors about a “Wall Street” sequel in the works from Hollywood. Amazingly enough, the latest news is that it is in fact going forward and will probably have Michael Douglas reprising his role as the infamous Gordon Gekko.

It looks like the sequel will also come on the heels of a crash of sorts. That is assuming we don’t have another leg down from now till the movie is released ;)

-oOo-

TM.. Not only do American firms avoid paying taxes...

2008-10-15T15:35:00.000-04:00

TM.. Not only do American firms avoid paying taxes as a result of our tax laws, which reward reinvestment etc, but most other countries balance their social programs on the backs of businesses. (Think free medical care in France and Britain).. The first time I became aware of this was many years ago, when John Lennon made his home in New York..(Shortly after writing the song 'Tax Man', I might add.) Makes you wonder whether he actualy did have to 'declare the pennies on his eyes'. There are exceptions. Delorean set up his factory in Ireland as there was a program to get Ireland back on it's feet at the time..So the implemented a 'No Corporate Tax for 5 Year' plan there... Not sure if it still exists. Probably not as Ireland, until recently, has been doing pretty well..

jegan