September 8, 2012 - 7:07 pm
A major theme of the various hot actresses speeches at the DNC was how they, as wealthy people, should pay more taxes. Warren buffet was famous for that one as well.
Of course, while arguing for higher taxes, Warren Buffet is suing the IRS to reduce his taxes, and could easily reorganize his finances so he was paid a salary instead of capital gains and dividends, which would mean paying the highest tax rate instead of the current 15 percent, or he could even write a check and send it to
Gifts to the United States
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway, Room 622D
Hyattsville, MD 20782
But, see, this isn’t about people really thinking they should pay more.
It’s cool for Warren Buffet to SAY he and people like him should pay more taxes, but it’s for suckers the ACTUALLY pay more taxes… in fact, he demands a tax break for being so liberal and saying the right things because he already more than did his part, he feels.
If the government needs more revenue it should tax capital gains of University and non-profit endowments.
Or a property tax on non profits.
And BTW, why have non profits at all in the first place?
If the idea is to encourage charitable giving, then the solution is to allow those entities to expense that giving and only tax whatever is retained, which with a true charity would essentially be nothing. Allowing institutions, that are fancifully called non profits to retain untaxed earnings gives those institutions outsized political power. The very charged that progressives effectively charged for profit businesses of doing as a prelude to the income tax.
Oh, and non profit does not automatically mean subscriber or member owned even though the management often implies such.
Federal property taxes are unconstitutional.
Like being “unconstitutional” has every stopped them in the past? Silly person!
Let the IRS lose on hollywood and hollywood accounting. Get rid of their special tax credits and the special copyright protections not given to others and as Instapundit states repeal the Hollywood tax cuts. Add cable unbundling and an excise tax on over the air broadcasting and these bimbo’s will never be heard from again.
The Answer to “People Like Me Should Pay More Taxes”
My answer is: What’s stopping you?
Ex-x-x-c-e-ll-ent!
“But, see, this isn’t about people really thinking they should pay more.”
Of course not. The rules liberals want to make are ALWAYS for other people.
They’re already doing it(whatever it is) right; others must be brought into line.
If you don’t want to wait around for the mail to be delivered, there’s also this.
Tinkering with tax codes is deck chair rearrangement; we’re spending like drunken sailors, oblivious to that iceberg out there.
“Tinkering with tax codes is deck chair rearrangement”
I fully agree. What a waste of time. What a distraction.
We can tinker with tax *rates* all we want, but in the long run, taxes=spending. Even if it’s in the form of interest on the national debt. The *only* way to reduce taxes is to reduce government spending.
Bottom line, the “I should pay more” line is seen as a kind of way for the rich, or even not so rich, to brag about their high incomes & noblesse oblige in a socially acceptable manner. So, they kill two birds with one stone- A) Establish their bragging rights as one of the 1%ters and B) demonstrate their generosity of spirit without it having to cost them a dime.
While I totally agree with the sentiments here, wouldn’t it be lovely to have Charlie Martin’s response plastered across the front page of the NYT, WAPO, WSJ, and every other celebtity suckup rag in the country?
I can see it now. “Brainless fake Hollywood boob says she thinks she should pay more taxes on her obscenely high income than she does. Not smart enough to do checkbook math, so she doesn’t know how to write a check to IRS!”
Ah, well.
Meanwhile this is an fairly well insulated echo chamber for the PJM readership.
Scarlet dear, simply because you cannot think of anything better to do with your money than buy a new pair of shoes does not mean that other people do not have better things to do with their own money. If you canno think of anything else, try giving some money to the Red Cross, the USO or your local Rescue Mission.
The guy in room 622d is like the Maytag repairman: he sits there all day long with nothing to do. More gov’t waste.
I would be willing to pay more taxes per Warren Buffett’s request, when he is willing to return the vast part of his fortune that has been proffered by sweetheart deals behind doors in government offices, sweethearts with huge returns and little risk.
Last I read, I believe Buffett was worth some $40 billion. Figure its past time for Uncle Warren to cut about a $30 billion check to the U.S. Treasury soon.
Ironic that this was the same man that pushed for the very laws to be passed, that he is now pandering to repeal. That happens when one has made his fortune, the laws are not applicable to his own holdings, and he is so rich, he is completely immune to any tax rate.
The Hypocrite of Omaha…
The indulgences have been paid via personal appearances.
Now back to their immoral profligate degenerate corrupt lifestyles that are paid for by pretending to be people they aren’t, and, of course…by hiring good plastic surgeons rather than helping other people.
If Buffet and Gates feel so guilty about being rich they could invest in a company that hires us smelly 98%’ers. It would not pacify the angry left. It would feed lots of peoples family’s.
But then if his luck is bad, Warren’s pile of cash and mink underwear might end up even bigger than it is now. And his problem of making himself look liberal would be even worse.
My post answers itself then.
Make charitable giving to organizations that help the “needy” a tax CREDIT rather than a tax DEDUCTION. In no time the welfare state goes away.
Of course, that would necessitate giving up POWER and dumping millions of welfare bureaucrats onto the job market…
Amen, partner!
If all these hollwood actors and actresses want to pay more taxes pay them, no one stopping you. all they do is talk the talk, but they never walk the walk.
If all these people who think they should be paying more taxes, would actually PAY MORE TAXES, instead of telling the rest of us to pay more taxes, maybe we could balance the budget. That’s if we’d had a budget for the last four years.