Wealth Redistribution? Wealthy Americans Are Taxed Less Now Than When Reagan Was President
People often talk about how our country is attempting to redistribute wealth, but people seem to ignore that the wealthiest individuals are being taxed substantially less now than during most of this country’s recent history. From 1917 until now we have had tax rates for the highest incomes groups up to 92% of their income. That rate was not for just a few years. In 1917 the tax rate was 67% for this group and it was still 70% in 1980. From 1950 to 1963 the tax rate was 91% (92% in 1952 and 1952). During the Reagan presidency the tax rate topped out at 69.13%. The top tax rate in 2010 was 35%. The lowest tax rate during the last 90 years was 24% in 1929, the year the Great Depression began. So why are people concerned that the wealthiest Americans are getting taxed too much when they are being taxed at the historic low that they are now?
LadyJazzer wrote: Wealth Redistribution? Wealthy Americans Are Taxed Less Now Than When Reagan Was President
People often talk about how our country is attempting to redistribute wealth, but people seem to ignore that the wealthiest individuals are being taxed substantially less now than during most of this country’s recent history. From 1917 until now we have had tax rates for the highest incomes groups up to 92% of their income. That rate was not for just a few years. In 1917 the tax rate was 67% for this group and it was still 70% in 1980. From 1950 to 1963 the tax rate was 91% (92% in 1952 and 1952). During the Reagan presidency the tax rate topped out at 69.13%. The top tax rate in 2010 was 35%. The lowest tax rate during the last 90 years was 24% in 1929, the year the Great Depression began. So why are people concerned that the wealthiest Americans are getting taxed too much when they are being taxed at the historic low that they are now?
Every time I read or hear someone spouting off these trite statements without, obviously, any knowledge of the facts, a little, itty bitty, teensy, weensy part of my soul (secularly speaking) dies. Boo hoo. I still chalk it up to bad basic math skills, being easily manipulated by propaganda, and lacking critical thinking (I'd be happy with just thinking) skills. And Ronnie and his "government is the problem" meme. NO, government is NOT the problem, government done BADLY is the problem. When these yahoos-of all flavors-get into the very government they purport to despise, they have no problem proving the proposition with their incompetence and oftentimes, malfeasance. And why do they want to be part of the government if they are so fond of the private sector and business? Why aren't they great, successful entrepreneurs and business people, contributing their skills and knowledge by creating jobs and making the world a better place® for us all?
One more thought, if our government and by extension our tax code is so very oppressive, why don't the job creators move their great skills and brilliance-themselves, in other words- to countries that are more open to allowing them the freedom (isn't free™) to operate their businesses and lives unfettered by stinkin' taxes and regulations? I wonder where that place might be?
It should be obvious to anyone with half a brain that there is a sweet spot for taxes and that it will vary between income levels. Taxes used to be levied in a way that made it more profitable for capital to be used than to be hoarded. That"'s what we need to go back to.
Buffett, one of the world's richest men and chairman of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc , said his federal tax bill last year was $6,938,744.
"That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income - and that's actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent," he said.
Buffett said higher taxes for the rich will not discourage investment.
"I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone - not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 - shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain," he said
"People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off."
Buffett, one of the world's richest men and chairman of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc , said his federal tax bill last year was $6,938,744.
"That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income - and that's actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent," he said.
Buffett said higher taxes for the rich will not discourage investment.
"I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone - not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 - shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain," he said
"People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off."
So is Buffett saying that he believes in the redistribution of wealth? He can't really be advocating for taking from the producers to give to the riff raff, can he? He must be a socialist or a commie or a libtard or such as...
OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.
While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.
To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.
To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.
THAT will send the Kool-Aid drinkers over the edge....
