doronjosama: (Default)
doronjosama ([personal profile] doronjosama) wrote2011-08-18 12:20 pm
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My tweets

  • Wed, 16:46: So this morning, I learned it was not a fluke last week when the 509 bus was late. That 509 can be a poky puppy when it wants to.
  • Wed, 16:47: What this means to me is that I will have to get up earlier to make sure I get to work on time on New Comic Book Day. I hate early rising.
  • Wed, 16:51: RT @Wheeler: This is very sweet and very positive: One mother's account of her six-year-old son's love for a gay TV character. http://t. ...
  • Wed, 16:52: RT @evanier: Warren Buffett argues to tax the rich more. The GOP response: The 3rd richest man in the world just doesn't understand how ...
  • Wed, 18:03: @piousknob, please tell me you are watching this show. Toriko op http://t.co/V9fStJi via @youtube
  • Wed, 19:46: RT @Comixace: Best factoid of the day: *Government* Jobs Led To Perry's Economic Boom http://t.co/qiKtULw
  • Thu, 07:32: RT @willworks: Thank god Elin makes the endcaps at the store, or I'd make one called "Poser abuse: all you dumb fucks are being tricked"
  • Thu, 07:39: @Akeashar The bad thing is that I've noticed such a strong shift in fandom- so many more women fans & artists. Happened in anime fandom too.
  • Thu, 09:04: @Akeashar @FuzzWolf2000 Which just confuses me, honestly, since I've been a fag hag since my teens. ^_^;
  • Thu, 09:21: RT @radiocomixinc: Mark Barnard & Terrie Smith's sci-fi romp Havoc INC has updated! http://t.co/oVbG99A
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[identity profile] hauptmann.livejournal.com 2011-08-19 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
So much left off the blurb about Warren Buffet and his view on taxation as to make the OP look completely ignorant.

Buffet pays at 17%, while his office staff get taxed between 33% - 41%. How? He's paying on investment income, while his office staff (as well as you, I, and the rest of working America) are paying from earned income. To make things confusing, he gets paid from dividends that are sent out after the corporation pays taxes on those dividends (35%), investment income is taxed at 15% (don't ask me why he's paying 17% until we see his returns).

To make things more confusing, he runs investments with a holding period of "forever". Investments get taxed according to the rate of their holding period, short term investments have their realized appreciation taxed at a higher rate than than do long term investments. Investments that have no end date and remain unrealized can make the investor very wealthy through appreciation and are taxed at 0%.
Last year Buffet's net worth gained $3 billion. If he had to realize those gains at even 17.4%, he would have paid in $522 million in taxes, instead of $6.9 million of his "taxable" income.

So what does he gain by calling for higher tax rates on millionaires? The best PR money can't buy for himself and his company, Birkshire Hathaway. After all, who couldn't agree with a billionaire that wants wants to pay more taxes (while hiding how he won't)? It sounds great, but anyone that's really paying attention will see he doesn't really do anything, and it's the best sucker bait around that gets repeated by tools. If he wanted to be taken seriously he could cut a check to the US Treasury for 30% of his net worth instead of 17% of his "income".

Tl;dr: "Do as I say, not as I do, you ignorant sheep."

[identity profile] doronjosama.livejournal.com 2011-08-19 01:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, I also believe corporations should pay taxes. So many oil companies, power companies, giant banks, etc., pay NO tax, even if they've made a profit. How does that work, exactly? My company (a corporation) has to pay taxes even when we don't make a profit. I guess we aren't big enough and we don't have enough tax lawyers and clever accountants.

But honestly, increasing the tax burden on poor and middle class people isn't going to help *anything*.

[identity profile] hauptmann.livejournal.com 2011-08-20 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
Actually, they do pay taxes, but what's usually run around is how little they pay at the end of the fiscal year, or how much they're "subsidized".
What gets thrown around as a reason to popularize hatred are the annual profits made, while intentionally leaving out what became of the profits, the liabilities involved; payroll taxes (largest part of operations), US state and local taxes, expenses (R&D, equipment, materials), dividends paid out to investors and retirees, salaries, and insurance payments. If a corporation has international holdings, then they pay taxes to the host country as well. Out of all that, then the corporate taxes after any or all of the above is written off.

What doesn't help in your case is the fact that you are a small business. And with all small businesses, you don't operate with a budget where you can write off liabilities, nor does your company produce goods or services consumed by billions of people so that you can pass the cost of corporate taxes to the consumer, where big corporations can and need to in order to remain in business.

This is why tax increases are always increases on the poor and middle class.
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