Re: Another Tax Hike



"Alvin E. Toda" <aet@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1166568000-sch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


It refers to the nature of the tax: it's a fixed
percentage based on your spending. Actually, the rich
do buy more so they probably pay more. And
traditionally, in Hawaii, we have offset that with
generous tax credits to the poor. In the end, they come
out ahead. However, much has changed in the last four
decades and we are probably due for some reform.

Not as a percentage of income....

On the federal level, there's a difference. The poor
get no relief on the SS tax while the rich get generous
rate deductions on the income tax so that their wealth
can presumably "trickle down" to the poor.

The rich also get very little for their contributions vs. the poor....

Bush had promised to do away with the estate tax, but
with this recent election, that effort has failed. Some
of the wealthy such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet
oppose that measure because it does the job of forcing
the rich to donate real heavily to reduce their estate
tax. They want the rich to donate to charity. On the
Charley Rose Show they explain this as a social
obligation for the opportunities this country affords
people in becoming rich. It's one of the good parts of
our tax code.

So, they think the "system" should take away a persons "choice" of what they
want to do with their money? Besides, really rich people are still going to
leave an awful lot of money to their heirs, in any event. And even with the
elimination of the estate tax, that still does not prevent people from
giving money away to some worthy cause. That is just an "excuse" that some
may use....but if they want to help someone else, nothing stops them from
doing that....that is what charity is all about. I just heard on the TV
news that the two groups that give the most to charity are the really rich
and the poor.... The poor give to charity because they feel that is their
duty to do so....they do not ask for some kind of benefit from the goverment
to make that decision.

.