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KHannon wrote:

Farmerkev wrote:

Chickenhawk wrote:

He doesn't want anybody bringing home more than 100k it seems. I certainly have some issues with that kind of thinking.

It's actually worse than that.
Look at the take home for a guy making 500 grand compared to the guy making a million.
Woe be to the poor sobs that earn 1 buck over the bracket lines.

You apparently don't understand marginal tax rates.  AKA the foundation of the American Federal income tax.

Under Pariah's plan, an individual who made $500,000 would pay $150,000 in taxes.

Someone who made $500,001 would pay $150,000.50.

Ya.  Poor slob.

Except he didn't list it as marginal rates.

Well if we want to play that game, then I need to quit paying more for phone and power to subsidize folks in suburban and rural areas. They should pay the higher cost of providing those services to areas that are less densely populated.

Depends. I'm sure some people would rather live in OK than HI. Some would rather live in Napa than San Francisco. Some like living out in the country, others in urban areas.

I think it would be a nice place to visit, not sure I'd want to live there.

Farmerkev wrote:

I'm fairly confident most people consider a lush tropical island desirable.

I would much rather live in a more populated urban environment than a lush tropical island. But still enjoy visiting said island from time to time.

robco wrote:

Some would rather live in Napa than San Francisco.

I certainly would.

Napa is beautiful.

If the taxes were absolute under Pariah's plan the penalty income ranges would be 50,001-58,823; 150,001-214285; & 500,001-10,000,000.

JakeTheTall wrote:

Interesting notion that the rich aren't paying progressive tax, but their share of pretax income and share of tax payments are very closely matched.

Apparently the author of that web page thinks a VAT style tax would be more fair. I have a hard time with the notion of "progressive" and "VAT" in the same sentence. All sales taxes are highly regressive, as they disproportionately affect lower income households.

Sure, a lot of places refund the VAT/GST if you are under a certain income level, but that still means you don't have the money *then* - you have to wait until you get your refund, which is likely long after you have had to pay the rent, utilities, etc.

Income taxes are still the way to go, as much as we may hate them. I would love to see *ALL* sales taxes on essential things (food, water, etc.) go away. I can buy a luxury tax, though. If you want to buy a TV or a PlayStation, you get to pay a tax. If you want to buy milk and bread, you don't. A lot of states waive sales tax on food and other essentials already, but not all. (MD waived sales tax on food, AL does not)

I would like to see personal property taxes on primary residences eliminated as well - I have no problem with taxes on commercial or secondary residences. I would settle for a moratorium on seizing primary residences due to back taxes, with a lien placed against the property instead, but really - the current situation means that we are renting our property from the government - and they have landlord rights.

However, my biggest dream is that we revert back to funding the federal government through the states. While the IRS is constitutional, thanks to an ill-conceived amendment, I really believe the whole nation would be better off if we paid *ALL* of our taxes to the city/county/state - and the states were responsible for paying taxes to the federal government. This would eliminate a whole legion of problems, from underfunded states to insane federal intrusions supported by the threat of withholding funding.