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Tax wealth, not income

By tovarichpeter   Follow   Mon, 19 Nov 2012, 8:41am   572 views   12 comments
In South San Francisco CA 94080   Watch (0)   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike  

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/opinion/to-reduce-inequality-tax-wealth-not-income.html?hp

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1. Nobody Follow Befriend 10 threads 272 comments San Jose, CA

   1   11:39am Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike   This is the prime example of "You pay, and I don't want to pay." I would agree if it only talked about taxing the wealth. Our country should be about the equal opportunity. Taxing wealth to provide better future and equal opportunity (by providing equal opportunity for education etc) for our kids would have had a better sounding theme. And one that majority of the people can agree to. (The equal opportunity should go for the different types of class of people, not just rich or poor. Just taxing the wealthy more would not be equal. On the other hand, if it was middle class paying more, that won't be equal.)

2. John Bailo Follow Befriend 94 threads 434 comments Kent, WA John Bailo's website

   2   4:23pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Forget real estate scams, banksters, 1% and all the rest. This issue...taxing assets...the solution to the problem.

3. John Bailo Follow Befriend 94 threads 434 comments Kent, WA John Bailo's website

   3   4:27pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Nobody says This is the prime example of "You pay, and I don't want to pay." No it's not. It's about paying in accordance to use. Those with the highest asset values depend on the Government more...the Fed, the Treasury, the Army...the whole System is set up to protect the value of dollars. It is only fair that people pay in accordance with total dollars held. Our country should be about the equal opportunity. Taxing wealth to provide better future and equal opportunity ... Equal opportunity? How can you have equal opportunity if one group of people is printing millions of dollars and giving it to themselves, while everyone else is doing hourly taxes and getting several orders of magnitude less? The point being, everyone can get into the same game -- the real game -- by not taxing income, and letting each person get up the ladder to wealth without Uncle Sam picking his pocket until he's finished climbing the ladder.

4. Bellingham Bill Follow Befriend 29 threads 1,476 comments Bellingham, WA Premium

   4   4:38pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   The critical thing this nation doesn't understand is that land values -- and housing rents -- rise in proportion to low taxes. When we cut the tax burden on everyone 2001-2003, land values -- and rents -- rose to take every dollar we were saving on taxes. Back in 2001 I did not understand this dynamic -- but lemme tell you, I sure wish I had! So if we just tax wealth in general we would be attacking the problem only tangentially. If we were to double taxes across the board -- from people working for minimum wage and billionaires -- the end result would be better than just taxing wealth, since it is the poor and middle class that also bid up rents and land values. The most efficient tax would be a direct tax on rents, but that is easily demagogued with threats that LLs will just raise rents to avoid their incidence. We should also tax the extraction of resources from our stock of wealth. Oil severance taxes etc. We could also tax the EM spectrum more heavily. All the spectrum sales have been incredibly stupid, giving away wealth.

5. Repubthug Follow Befriend (1) 3 threads 42 comments

   5   5:53pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Bellingham Bill says The critical thing this nation doesn't understand is that land values -- and housing rents -- rise in proportion to low taxes. Holly molly Havent read anything so stupid on this site Poster seems to actually believe its true So CA had less taxes compared to other areas?Tx has more taxes? what abt the rest of the world?Heard China/India?Did they reduce the tax rates..I read the property prices grew by 10-20 times in a decade in some places there

6. Nobody Follow Befriend 10 threads 272 comments San Jose, CA

   6   6:00pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   John Bailo says Equal opportunity? How can you have equal opportunity if one group of people is printing millions of dollars and giving it to themselves, while everyone else is doing hourly taxes and getting several orders of magnitude less? Agreed. John Bailo says The point being, everyone can get into the same game -- the real game -- by not taxing income, and letting each person get up the ladder to wealth without Uncle Sam picking his pocket until he's finished climbing the ladder. Once again, I agree. I thought I was saying the same thing. Or you are just reinforcing what I am saying? The problem is rich wants you to pay their fair share of tax. And they don't want to pay any.

7. Patrick Follow Befriend (54) 5,185 threads 6,156 comments 46 male Menlo Park, CA Premium

   7   6:00pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Yes, CA has lower property taxes than other areas.

8. New Renter Follow Befriend (3) 13 threads 2,201 comments San Jose, CA Premium

   8   6:24pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Repubthug says So CA had less taxes compared to other areas? Prop 13 baby!

9. SFace Follow Befriend (2) 60 threads 1,298 comments Premium

   9   6:39pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   The problem with taxing wealth is in theory they are taxed already. How would you like to be Jolstad, saved and paid income tax for 40 years and then the law switch up and says you have to be taxed on what was accumulated?

10. ducsingle5313 Follow Befriend 4 threads 206 comments Redwood City, CA

    10   6:39pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Patrick says Yes, CA has lower property taxes than other areas. I've been wondering where California % property taxes are relative to other states. Of course (ignoring Prop 13) somebody paying 1% property tax on a mansion in Peoria, IL will probably be paying a fraction of the property taxes paid on a 1BR/1BA condo in San Francisco.

11. Bellingham Bill Follow Befriend 29 threads 1,476 comments Bellingham, WA Premium

    11   6:58pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Repubthug says Havent read anything so stupid on this site Poster seems to actually believe its true So CA had less taxes compared to other areas?Tx has more taxes? Like I said, it's odd that nobody can work through this rather obvious relationship. Housing is sold on the bid, so a lower income tax rate -- like the across-the-board Bush tax cuts of 2001-2003 -- results in everyone bidding up the price of housing. The price of housing has little to do with its actual construction cost or even current replacement cost. Stuff built in the 1950s in some areas of the Bay Area sells for a million or more. The price is solely set at what we need to outbid the other people who want to buy where we want to live. Now, to get to your question, Texas does in fact have relatively high property taxes; the Austin area is in the 2.4-2.5% of assessed value range. This is twice that of California. Now, my actual point should have been rising disposable -- after tax -- incomes push up home prices. I fail to see how anyone could really argue with this, LOL. But people do! Housing is not like other forms of wealth. By definition real estate is immobile, so it can't shift location to respond to increasing demand. And it's a life necessity, we all need a spot of ground to call home unless you want to live like a prehistoric caveman (or find a boat or something to try to live on). And the demand for it overwhelms supply in most areas. Most everyone would like to have more land to call their own, or live in a better/safer neighborhood, or have a vacation house or two . . . Land is really the source and sink of all wealth.

12. Patrick Follow Befriend (54) 5,185 threads 6,156 comments 46 male Menlo Park, CA Premium

    12   7:26pm Mon 19 Nov 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   ducsingle5313 says I've been wondering where California % property taxes are relative to other states. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/11leonhardt-avgproptaxrates.html