So it's a tax that affects virtually no one? Or is it a tax that destroys home builders and real estate investors who don't get the personal exemption? I hope various union contractors are made aware of this if that's the case. Wouldn't want to mislead them as to why they're getting fired (i.e. the evil rich boss business owner).
I wonder what the Obama made the CBO say it would raise in revenue? My guess, a couple hundred billion.
Why shouldn't real estate investors and home builders have to pay taxes?
Didn't realize they were previously exempt from taxes. If that's the case, isn't the real question "why do real estate investors and home builders only have to pay a 3.8% tax"? If that's not the case, why should they have to pay additional taxes above and beyond what everyone else pays.
They do pay taxes on capital gains if they make enough money. The thing about real estate investment is that you are allowed to reinvest and only pay taxes on the amount of cash you keep. So, I could develop a plot of land, sell that plot of land at a profit of $1,000,000, and then use that $1,000,000 to buy a new even bigger plot of land and pay no taxes on the $1,000,000. The proposed tax will just be a small tax increase for very wealthy people.
This isn't exactly true. You can do a 1031 exchange and defer taxes in this manner, but eventually you have to pay taxes on all gains. It's not like the gains just disappear.
I'm sick and tired of people saying the "wealthy" don't pay their fair share. Half this rough ridin' country pays no income taxes, yet they're running around saying the wealthy don't pay enough. IMO, if you don't pay any income taxes you can't say what someone elses "fair share" is or is not. The tax system is fundamentally unfair as drafted, therefore any attempt to make it "more fair" by targeting one group of people is at best political rhetoric and most likely old fashioned populous class warfare (the lowest form of democracy).
Money becomes marginal for different people at different levels. I could quite easily get a second job at a quarter of my regular pay and make more money each year. The problem is, more money isn't really going to do me much good, and I value my time not working much more than I would having more money. I also enjoy more protection from all levels of government because I do have a job and do have some wealth.
The people who pay no income taxes are still paying money to the federal government through payroll taxes, including the incredibly regressive Social Security tax. Also the poor, while they may receive some assistance from the government, still don't have crap worth protecting. You and I can do all sorts of things knowing that we have protections provided by the government. Also the taxes we pay that go toward assisting poor people actually helps us as well since it lowers crime and we don't have to worry about our crap being stolen, vandalized etc.
There should be more tax brackets added for the higher incomes, with a maximum marginal rate of 45 percent at incomes of around $5 million or so, even then, maybe a handful of people would actually be paying something around 35 percent in taxes.
I was in the 28 percent bracket last year and ended up with an effective tax rate of about 16 percent. I get all sorts of deductions for doing crap that poor people can't even begin to afford. For example, I get to shelter a big chunk of change for retirement now and will most likely be able to pay less in taxes because my income will be less when I need it. Try doing that on $12 an hour while paying for health insurance, rent, etc.
