antagon
The Man
- Dec 6, 2009
- 3,572
- 295
- 48
I see your point about using that wealth to stimulate the economy but I do not see those as deductions. I would not count purchasing assets for a company as a deduction but would rather count that against your profits. That money was never a profit to begin with as it is used for the continuing of the business itself.I would like to hear your reasoning for deductions though.
1. deductions motivate businesses
2. deductions knock the sting out of these top rates.
3. ill expound...truck.
this is such a painful conversation, as i am beginning to pre-do my taxes.
there's profit like paid 80, sold for 100. and there's profit like made 100 spent 80+overhead. nuance. anyhow, in a simplified way, deduction is just the term in the tax code to account for the cost of business. they are enumerated specifically and with limitations and fractional deductions for different activities, such that its not the same as blanket net profit.
not any citizen can empathize with every citizen, however the government attempts to. an obligation which in economic terms pans out positively. there are social agendas in the tax code, but many are focused on the economy.What I was referring to was more like EIC credit, deductions received for child care, deductions for adding a solar paneled roof, current deductions for purchasing energy star appliances and purchasing a home. All of these are used as incentives to goad you into making decisions that I dont believe the government should be encouraging with taxes.
real quick.. eic - redistribution of weath, childcare - encourages population growth, solar - energy, appliances - energy. (you can add either populist or lobbyist politics to each as applicable). the political nudges inherent in these dont blur the fact that the united states is great because we have 1) a huge population 2) with a first world per-capita income 3) who convert energy into wealth more effectively than the next country. this is fundamentally american, whether it involves 'spreading it around a little' or not. we invented it, and every other major-league nation in the world is on our heels with the above, nipping with their kyoto accords.. playing catch-up hustling slovenia into their union.
private spending being more efficient than public, the private efforts which displace public spending are and should be welcomed. why take the taxes and spend inefficiently on the same?If the government believes that there needs to be funding in a certain field then it can and does directly fund it and deductions are a poor way to supplement that.
there's always loopholes, and a tax-dude helps to find them. all that i know, ive learned from the tax guru's iv worked with over the last decade. its not just the rich who can do that. if you have to pay more than withholding, i would suggest you are in the bracket to have to look into deductions. change your lifestyle around deduction, even. unintended consequences like loopholes aside, this system demands that those making decent cash constitute the fabric of our society instead of just pulling the threads.It causes what we have today where there are many people that are wealthy that can skirt the taxes they owe because they can afford the tax broker to find all the loopholes to a tax system that is impossible to understand. I would find it simpler if the actual taxes were reduced to a more manageable level but without deductions for people to hide their money in.
there is some truth to this, however, an american who avoids tax burden through the available deductions could probably be considered a model citizen and a real contributor to the national well-being as well as their own. lobbies, advocacy groups, unions, voters and orgs like the SBA and the chamber help shape the code. thankfully, its not just jkerry coming up with ideas.To put it short and to each point
1. Government rarely knows what will benefit society and I feel that people in general are better suited to decide where their wealth should go than a bureaucrat that is creating law to suit his purposes.
yep, although modern instant deductability and the lower reagan taxes came as a package.2. Without deductions, premium tax rates could be reduced to a more reasonable level.
way simpler, however simple=/=better, from my perspective as ive laid it out.3. Addressed above in business. As a personal side I do not see this as a good thing. People should contribute when and if they can and there should not be a reason for the government to persuade you to make purchases. It is a much simpler thing to find an effective percentage to income ratio to provide for the funding of government then creating all these muddy provisions that try and achieve good outcomes.
crystal clear, man. i dont even bother to use the shift key, but thanks.Sorry if this is a bit convoluted it is late here and your writing makes mine look bad