Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires

Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (Full Version)

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Brain -> Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 1:43:50 AM)
Call me old fashioned but I just think it's wrong that a single hedge fund manager earns a billion dollars, when a billion dollars would pay the salaries of about 20,000 teachers. Robert Reich Former Secretary of Labor, Professor at Berkeley Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires Who could be opposed to closing a tax loophole that allows hedge-fund and private equity managers to treat their earnings as capital gains -- and pay a rate of only 15 percent rather than the 35 percent applied to ordinary income? Answer: Some of the nation's most prominent and wealthiest private asset managers, such as Paul Allen and Henry Kravis, who, along with hordes of lobbyists, are determined to keep the loophole wide open. The House has already tried three times to close it only to have the Senate cave in because of campaign donations from these and other financiers who benefit from it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/closing-tax-loopholes-for_b_586378.html?ir=Politics

pahunkboy -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 2:28:22 AM)
What about trillionaires?

eyesopened -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 3:35:20 AM)
Why shouldn't an individual get paid for their work? There's nothing wrong with earning a billion dollars. Do you think everyone should have a cap on what they can earn? Everywhere in the world or just people in the United States? Let's say someone invents a device that plays MP3's in a cute little package and come up with a catchy name and fabulous marketing and advertising. Should that person only be able to earn X per year on that device no matter how many were sold? Should such devices be limited to how many can be sold so that no one can make too much money on their invention? The story wasn't about how much money one makes but how that income is treated and the tax liabilities for those earnings. Personally I'm do not care that some earnings are treated as capital gains and a lesser tax is paid. My problem with the US tax code is the number of loopholes that allow people or corporations to earn a billions of dollars and pay no tax at all. ExxonMobile paid no tax to the US at all in 2009. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Tax/ge-exxon-paid-us-income-taxes-09/story?id=10300167 The most egregious example is General Electric. Last year the conglomerate generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, but ended up owing nothing to Uncle Sam. In fact, it recorded a tax benefit of $1.1 billion. Avoiding taxes is nothing new for General Electric. In 2008 its effective tax rate was 5.3%; in 2007 it was 15%. The marginal U.S. corporate rate is 35%. Wall Street is the villian we love to hate. But rather than pick on what is capital gains and what is income, we should be looking at closing the loopholes that allow corporations to pay no tax at all.

pahunkboy -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 3:52:00 AM)
Who on this list- has done anything WORTH a COOL billion?

realcoolhand -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 4:36:16 AM)
Have yall actually read the tax code? It's pretty tight, and there are fewer "loopholes" than folks think. The big problems are exclusions for foreign income and, if you consider it a problem, the taxation of capital gains at a different rate. By the way, eyesopened, I think he was just quoting Robert Reich, not advancing that position personally (at least not literally).

pahunkboy -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 4:43:18 AM)
Brain, How about YOU? Have you paid your fair share?

eyesopened -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 5:22:51 AM)
I don't think Canadians pay taxes in the US. Evidently Canada doesn't have any billionaires for Brain to complain about.

Sanity -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 5:47:34 AM)
Lets say Brian is president of an imaginary hell known as Brianistan. Congress and the Supreme Court there are populated with Brian clones and they pass his form of communism into law, so no more billionaires. Now, if you lived there and you invented such a device and you knew what it was worth why would you remain a citizen in Brianistan, the poorest nation in the world? Of course you would immigrate to Freemarketslovia immediately to develop, patent, and mass produce your invention, and share your wealth with other free people who like the good life and aren't ashamed to admit it. quote: Let's say someone invents a device that plays MP3's in a cute little package and come up with a catchy name and fabulous marketing and advertising. Should that person only be able to earn X per year on that device no matter how many were sold? Should such devices be limited to how many can be sold so that no one can make too much money on their invention?

domiguy -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 5:55:33 AM)
Sanity, I think the President of Brianistan was just mentioning that everyone should pay their fair share. I would like my income to be treated as a capital gain. I would like to know why they have their income treated as a capital gain?

UniqueRaven -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 5:57:15 AM)
My ex was a Wall Street Banker (he's a consultant now). He paid 62% of his income in Federal, State, and City taxes - and that was after any "loopholes" people think are so unfair. Imagine earning $100,000 and only taking home $38,000 of it. How fair is that to you? His income went to pay for schools, hospitals, retirement homes, garbage collection, city services, etc. - all for people who often had very little, or even nothing. i'm not one for debate. Just saying that the perception that those that earn a high income are somehow "unfair" to those that don't isn't valid.

domiguy -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 5:59:12 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: UniqueRaven My ex was a Wall Street Banker (he's a consultant now). He paid 62% of his income in Federal, State, and City taxes - and that was after any "loopholes" people think are so unfair. Imagine earning $100,000 and only taking home $38,000 of it. How fair is that to you? His income went to pay for schools, hospitals, retirement homes, garbage collection, city services, etc. - all for people who often had very little, or even nothing. i'm not one for debate. Just saying that the perception that those that earn a high income are somehow "unfair" to those that don't isn't valid. No he didn't......When did this occur?

thishereboi -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 6:00:12 AM)
quote: Call me old fashioned but I just think it's wrong that a single hedge fund manager earns a billion dollars, when a billion dollars would pay the salaries of about 20,000 teachers. Being obsessed with other people making more money than you isn't being old fashioned, it's called jealousy. Maybe if you turned all that energy you use to bash the US and used it to make a few bucks, you too could be rich.

pahunkboy -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 6:00:50 AM)
So then he still owes 38% - as he did get a discount. STOMP

domiguy -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 6:02:30 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: thishereboi quote: Call me old fashioned but I just think it's wrong that a single hedge fund manager earns a billion dollars, when a billion dollars would pay the salaries of about 20,000 teachers. Being obsessed with other people making more money than you isn't being old fashioned, it's called jealousy. Maybe if you turned all that energy you use to bash the US and used it to make a few bucks, you too could be rich. Can you people not read? It's about someone paying their fair share....No more or less than anyone else. It wasn't mentioned in the article but I would like to see the rationale as to why hedge fund managers get off with their income being treated as a capital gain?

tazzygirl -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 6:05:33 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: UniqueRaven My ex was a Wall Street Banker (he's a consultant now). He paid 62% of his income in Federal, State, and City taxes - and that was after any "loopholes" people think are so unfair. Imagine earning $100,000 and only taking home $38,000 of it. How fair is that to you? His income went to pay for schools, hospitals, retirement homes, garbage collection, city services, etc. - all for people who often had very little, or even nothing. i'm not one for debate. Just saying that the perception that those that earn a high income are somehow "unfair" to those that don't isn't valid. I have to agree with domiguy on this one. Im calling bullshit.

thishereboi -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 6:08:48 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: domiguy quote: ORIGINAL: thishereboi quote: Call me old fashioned but I just think it's wrong that a single hedge fund manager earns a billion dollars, when a billion dollars would pay the salaries of about 20,000 teachers. Being obsessed with other people making more money than you isn't being old fashioned, it's called jealousy. Maybe if you turned all that energy you use to bash the US and used it to make a few bucks, you too could be rich. Can you people not read? It's about someone paying their fair share....No more or less than anyone else. It wasn't mentioned in the article but I would like to see the rationale as to why hedge fund managers get off with their income being treated as a capital gain? I was referring to brains obsession, not the author of the article. The poor little boy is going to develop an ulcer if he doesn't quit worrying so much about those evil rich people in the US. Maybe after he gets older and has earned some money of his own, he will settle down, but I doubt it.

UniqueRaven -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 6:10:27 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: domiguy quote: ORIGINAL: UniqueRaven i'm not one for debate. Just saying that the perception that those that earn a high income are somehow "unfair" to those that don't isn't valid. No he didn't......When did this occur? 2003 - 2008.

UniqueRaven -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 6:12:12 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: tazzygirl quote: ORIGINAL: UniqueRaven i'm not one for debate. Just saying that the perception that those that earn a high income are somehow "unfair" to those that don't isn't valid. I have to agree with domiguy on this one. Im calling bullshit. Please feel free to believe or not - it is true. Federal Tax, NY State Tax, NY City Tax, and NJ State Tax. It adds up.

Aynne88 -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 6:15:01 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: UniqueRaven My ex was a Wall Street Banker (he's a consultant now). He paid 62% of his income in Federal, State, and City taxes - and that was after any "loopholes" people think are so unfair. Imagine earning $100,000 and only taking home $38,000 of it. How fair is that to you? His income went to pay for schools, hospitals, retirement homes, garbage collection, city services, etc. - all for people who often had very little, or even nothing. i'm not one for debate. Just saying that the perception that those that earn a high income are somehow "unfair" to those that don't isn't valid. Then your ex had the world's suckiest accountant ever. My ex (whom I still work for at the business) made over 150k in 2007 and paid 22k in taxes. There is no way that in any state someone made 100k and paid 62 of it in taxes. How, exactly, does that work? If he is a consultant now, tell him to incorporate. He sounds like he isn't cut out to be consulting anyone based on those figures, but if he is, incorporate. He will save tens of thousands.

tazzygirl -> RE: Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires (5/24/2010 6:16:11 AM)
And you are going to try and get me to believe a Wall Street Banker had no health insurance, no 401K plan, no Medicare, no other deductions beyond those 4 income taxes. Nope, just aint happening

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