Taxus 112512

Barring the unlikely event of a major lottery win I will never be called upon to pay rich man’s taxes.  As a confirmed poor man however, I oppose laying more taxes on the rich. I would like see them pay at least as much as I do.

Proposals to tax the rich are not new.  Way back when the argument against income taxes centered on, “ The power to tax is the power to destroy.”  This argument has been proven over time and cultures.  Crusader Knights were taxed out of existence; British debtor prisons were filled, or deported to American and Australia as bond slaves, with people unable to pay their taxes.   Liberals advocate redistribution of the wealth, or take from the rich and give to the poor.  This was Robin Hood’s philosophy, the merry men lived well but the poor were still poor, sounds like a government budget.  Communist began with the same philosophy but soon ran out of wealth to redistribute and the poor’s pennies supported the state.  More recently even the Taliban got in the act by taxing whoever had money and giving it those without, then turning around and taxing them because they now had money.

The State loves complicated tax codes simply because it can destroy at will.  If it can’t silence dissents or catch criminals then get them for tax fraud.  In taxation there are no honest mistakes.  Drop a zero, lose your job, car, house and family then as a homeless person the state might give you some of your surrendered money.  In the United States the rich man’s tax rate has been as high as 94 (ninety-four) percent.  Why would anyone work hard for only six percent of worth? 

The rich didn’t. Their advantage is that they can hire the best lawyers, accountants and politicians to insure that they pay the absolute minimum tax. The politicians favored the rich with exemptions, lawyers skirt the tax code and accountants fiddled the books so little if any tax is due.

Tax code reform is needed, not more redistribution of wealth because whatever goes into government, leaks out a thousand holes in the bucket.  Consider: below the poverty line, no tax due; those above the poverty line gets a poverty line exemption and the remainder is taxed at what every rate is appropriate to meet the budget, no exceptions. Instead of asking advice from rich bankers on budget matters Congress should seek the advice of poor folks, they are the real budget experts.  The poor know that you can’t spend what you don’t have. Government budgets should plan to balance, not plan to borrow and raise taxes to justify even larger deficits.

The world is in debt crisis because governments, the rich and middle class spent more than they can expect to repay in generations.  Work hard, pay your taxes, and leave your great, great grand kids to pay off your debt.

Death and taxes right?  Win a lottery, hire your own lawyers, accountants and politicians and plan to spend more than you win.  Death Taxes will take anything left.  The rich aren’t the problem or the solution; government is the problem avoiding a solution.