I would be very interested to see how they define the word transaction.
For example: Is a private citizen moving $250 from their checking act. to their savings act. a transaction?
Flat Tax and Tithing
- Thread starter The Thriller
- Start date
I would be very interested to see how they define the word transaction.
For example: Is a private citizen moving $250 from their checking act. to their savings act. a transaction?
PearlWatson
Well-Known Member
There would be a run on the banks and mattresses would get thicker.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
So do we also do away with the $10,000 gift allowance? seems like that would be unfair to leave that exclusion in place if we're taxing goods received through a charitable organization. Perhaps immediate family only is excluded? Otherwise, your children would need to report as income any money you give him/her to pay rent, tuition, buy food, etc. while at college.
MoreFeasts
Member
No C4, I am not advocating changing current rules on taxing familial gifts. For a variety of reasons, I don't see them as equivalent to charity or government assistance.
I would advocate lower deductibles on estate taxes though.
Stoked, no , my proposal is not to go after checking accounts, certainly not the sort of transaction you described. I am thinking more about things like high frequency trading and derivatives trading and to find other methods of deriving tax revenue from wealth and the transfer of wealth. The goal would be to do away with taxes on earnings, and relieve most Americans from the burden of doing tax returns. I haven't worked out all the details.
I would advocate lower deductibles on estate taxes though.
Stoked, no , my proposal is not to go after checking accounts, certainly not the sort of transaction you described. I am thinking more about things like high frequency trading and derivatives trading and to find other methods of deriving tax revenue from wealth and the transfer of wealth. The goal would be to do away with taxes on earnings, and relieve most Americans from the burden of doing tax returns. I haven't worked out all the details.
PearlWatson
Well-Known Member
H & R Block is going to love your proposal when it is all done.
What? Are you seriously suggesting that focusing on reducing waste and inefficiencies is a waste of time?
I would expect at the very lest, a transaction would involve the exchange of property between two individuals.
So, transferring of resources, loans (on security or otherwise), etc. would not be taxable. Transferring ownership of a mortgage, derivatives, insurance (including credit default swaps), stock purchases, bond purchases, etc. would be taxable.
The problem I have with that is that there is one government and a plethora of private industries. I am sure that you can find many, many examples of of private industries that are more effective and efficient than government. I am sure the reverse is true.
Either way pointing to the success or failure of others should have no bearing on being mad about government waste.
Here's the problem(s). First, I truly believe you are wrong. Yes, every company has inefficiencies.. but I believe that if you looked at any blue-chip company and compared it to the U.S. government the inefficiencies are nowhere close to similar.. again, I've given real world example of the waste in government.
Secondly, there is a big difference (at least as far as I am concerned) with the government wasting MY money rather than a corporation wasting its money.
Question: You have $1MM to invest and you must invest into the stock of one of two companies. The first one is profitable and clearly run well and efficiently. The second is not. Which do you invest in? How do you feel when you're told you HAVE to invest your hard-earned money into the second option? Of course those are rhetorical questions.
My thing is I get investing into America. Into education, R&D, infrastructure, the poor, military.. it's a necessary investment to make and one I fully support (the alternative would be stupid, no?). I just want my money being invested into a smart company/government. Will that day ever come? Extremely doubtful. Politicians will still fight over the raising or lowering of taxes .. and I'll still be bitching about waste.
Those companies do not force us to hand over our money under threat of imprisonment. They can be however wasteful they want with their own money. If they're not efficient enough they'll go out of business and be replaced by a company that doesn't waste as much.
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If your second company is supposed to represent the government, then we'll politely disagree on relative efficiency. The reason the government is not profitable is because it is not allowed to charge for it's services according to their costs. Instead, it is instructed by fiat to produce X services with a tax base of Y.
I've seen millions spent on a software design initiative, only to be scrapped for another million-dollar initiative two years later, only to be scrapped again after a merger two years later. This was in one department at Anthem, but I've heard of similar things in various departments at all sorts of private companies. There is a lot of randomness in whom the free market rewards.
The VA has horrible administrative efficiency, the IRS and SSA have high administrative efficiency (as a comparison of administrative dollar to amount of money moved). Naturally, the former gets headlines.
I agree with investment, and with fighting waste. I just don't think "let the private sector do it" will be a waste-fighting solution.
On the other hand, they can be very wasteful without being "wasteful enough".
Companies also are not forced to use fixed prices for their products.
Absolutely. I think you're missing the part where the government uses force to coerce us to pay them. It's not a voluntary arrangement. When I buy a product I'm making a choice.
I was not implying that the 2nd company is the government.. but it's immaterial.
If what you and I are debating, in your mind, is whether we should allow the public sector "to do it", then we may very well be in closer agreement. I was simply arguing for more focus on cost-cutting. Btw, cost-cutting does not automatically imply program cutting (though I feel there are many that need cut).. I am happy to start by leaving ALL programs in place, but search better/cheaper methods of running them.
Most of my gripes stem from budget issues. The 'use it or lose it' without considerations for cyclical aspects of various initiatives. I hate seeing, on a daily basis, branches of government scrambling to spend money so they don't get their budgets reduced under the next review. It's maddening.
One such example I gave was a very good friend of mine invented thermoplastic and pioneered its application to road striping (vs paint). He proved that though it costs 3x more than paint, it last nearly 10x longer. So he was an overnight multi-millionaire and his factory was supplying thermoplastic for roads across the U.S.
Within 3 years he's was getting orders for the same highways he had already provided product for. He made the calls to question and was told the lines had faded. Not believing it (and taking pride in his work) he went to one of the highways and using his reflectometer deduced that the lines were still more than 2x the required reflectivity.
He pushed and was finally told that the savings wasn't wanted, that they didn't want a lower budget, but haven't yet figured what to spend the money on. He said he got these calls on a weekly basis and the dollars had to have been into the hundred's of millions annually.
That's ONE example of dozens that drive me nuts.
My complaint of raising taxes is because if that ... and, frankly, I resent being told (not by you) that if I am not willing to pay more in taxes it means I do not support the idea of helping those in need. I want to help them MORE.
I agree government is different in that regard. I'm just pointing out that inefficiency is a function of size, not government vs. private.
green
Well-Known Member
We were in Philly. It was nuts. Students were getting all their windows replaced for free, new heaters/water coolers, doors, the whole nine yards. Buy a older home, have the gov't fix it up, then flip it when you graduated.
green
Well-Known Member
Did you know that if you work in Philadelphia, but live outside of the city limits, there is an additional tax you have to pay?