Ending the estate tax: Walton's - $54 Billion / Koch Bros. - $38 Billion

[bufetadanacara]

I'd rather people's great wealth be taxed while they are still alive.

Nothing is colder than the government saying "you've had a loved one die, my condolences, now fucking pay me".

 

[nostradumbass]

That's not entirely true, in most cases large estates are built largely on unrealized capital gains which are not taxed and in fact the estate tax is one of the few ways to tax this wealth.

What you're talking about applies more to landed estates since the owner presumably pays property taxes throughout his life before paying the estate tax but unrealized capital gains are more commonly the backbone of large estates.

I suppose that's true in many cases, but they at least followed the existing tax code so it wasn't earned illegally to be punished. Using taxes as punishment just so somebody has less can get out of hand quickly.

 

[cincymma79]

"I am conscious that an equal division of property is impracticable, but the consequences of this enormous inequality producing so much misery to the bulk of mankind, legislators cannot invent too many devices for subdividing property, only taking care to let their subdivisions go hand in hand with the natural affections of the human mind. The descent of property of every kind therefore to all the children, or to all the brothers and sisters, or other relations in equal degree, is a politic measure and a practicable one. Another means of silently lessening the inequality of property is to exempt all from taxation below a certain point, and to tax the higher portions or property in geometrical progression as they rise." Thomas Jefferson

We do tax income higher at high incomes. We also tax hem more when they buy property. They also pay more in property tax while they own it. So we’ve covered this already.

 

[giusti825]

Don’t be so dense

Do you have a point to make? Or do you honestly believe that the only reason you're not a billionaire is because you're lazy?

I don't honestly believe that people are this brainwashed; that they believe that Billionaires are the hardest working people on the planet.

 

[Rod1]

I thought a Latin American of all people would support it given the strength of landed oligarchies in the region.

I kind of feel the opposite way. I'm okay with keeping income and capital taxes lower if it means having a very robust estate tax. Make your cheddar while you're alive and enjoy it but don't think you're gonna found a dynasty.

Why? Latin Americans are more family oriented.

Landed oligarchs are not the issue, tax evasion is the issue.

 

[giusti825]

I suppose that's true in many cases, but they at least followed the existing tax code so it wasn't earned illegally to be punished. Using taxes as punishment just so somebody has less can get out of hand quickly.

Corporatists don't follow the tax code, they write it. (literally)

They get their employees (politicians who they bribe) to sign it into law.

 

[LMP]

I feel the wealthy should pay higher taxes. One major reason is they use our infrastructure more heavily to make their wealth. Semi truck are very hard and destructive to or road systems. Yet they don't feel they should have to pay more for the upkeep.

Walmart for instance has put many small businesses out of business. This has transferred the wealth into fewer and fewer hands. Yet there are people that like to pretend that this should be the accepted norm.

Communities use public tax dollars to carter to these large businesses. We are in a race to the bottom imo.

 

[hillelslovak87]

We do tax income higher at high incomes. We also tax hem more when they buy property. They also pay more in property tax while they own it. So we’ve covered this already.

And that progression needs to be much more steep, obviously. Income inequality is becoming more wide, wealth more concentrated in the hands of a mere couple thousand people, and they are lobbying our leaders in order to pay even less, year after year.

 

[Islam Imamate]

I suppose that's true in many cases, but they at least followed the existing tax code so it wasn't earned illegally to be punished. Using taxes as punishment just so somebody has less can get out of hand quickly.

Its not about punishing them, its about preventing the creation of an oligarchy. The country has already seen decades of rising wealth inequality, I don't really think we needed the estate tax abolished right now.

Why? Latin Americans are more family oriented.

Landed oligarchs are not the issue, tax evasion is the issue.

I don't think those are mutually exclusive. Having a few powerful families control a disproportionate amount of wealth is not good for society, that wealth can be parlayed into political power and to me that's a threat to democracy. Its also the case that wealth inequality correlates with higher levels of violence and so its no wonder that Latin America leads the world in both.

 

[nostradumbass]

Do you have a point to make? Or do you honestly believe that the only reason you're not a billionaire is because you're lazy?

I don't honestly believe that people are this brainwashed; that they believe that Billionaires are the hardest working people on the planet.

We're not talking about lottery winners here, these people probably worked a minimum of 70-80 hours/week for years just to build their company for little reward, and it doesn't stop when the work day is over, they're handling shit in their off time too. They also took all the risk. Anybody is free to start their own company with all of the work and risks, but most would rather have set hours and enough free time to check facebook, smoke weed and play world of witchcraft in their time off.

 

[HatchetHarry]

Do you have a point to make? Or do you honestly believe that the only reason you're not a billionaire is because you're lazy?

I don't honestly believe that people are this brainwashed; that they believe that Billionaires are the hardest working people on the planet.

Combination of intelligence and work ethic. Do you people honestly believe that being poor is just a result of circumstance and not shitty work ethic?

You are the brainwashed one. You get your information from Facebook memes and idiots talking about the “1%”.

 

[giusti825]

I feel the wealthy should pay higher taxes. One major reason is they use our infrastructure more heavily to make their wealth. Semi truck are very hard and destructive to or road systems. Yet they don't feel they should have to pay more for the upkeep.

Walmart for instance has put many small businesses out of business. This has transferred the wealth into fewer and fewer hands. Yet there are people that like to pretend that this should be the accepted norm.

Communities use public tax dollars to carter to these large businesses. We are in a race to the bottom imo.

They would also have more assets to defend. Which means more state protection is necessary.

In 2015 alone, the taxpayers subsidized Walmarts labor costs by $6.3 Billion in the form of food stamps, medicaid and housing programs because they refuse to pay livable wages in urban and developed areas.

It should be illegal to pay a full-time worker $300 a week after taxes when the cheapest available apartments in the city go for $1200 a month.

 

[ProBoxingInsidr]

Unless they're buried with it, they cant keep it anyway.

true. so the moral thing to do is to take it all away from them

 

[Islam Imamate]

We're not talking about lottery winners here, these people probably worked a minimum of 70-80 hours/week for years just to build their company for little reward, and it doesn't stop when the work day is over, they're handling shit in their off time too. They also took all the risk. Anybody is free to start their own company with all of the work and risks, but most would rather have set hours and enough free time to check facebook, smoke weed and play world of witchcraft in their time off.

They probably did that? Sure some of them did no doubt, the Zuckerbergs and Gates of the world are out there, but think of the two families mentioned in the OP, the Waltons and Kochs. Do you think their children will have to work 70-80 hours to become rich? Or, given the estate tax was abolished, will they simply have to wait for their ancestors to die to inherit their fortunes?

 

[cincymma79]

And that progression needs to be much more steep, obviously. Income inequality is becoming more wide, wealth more concentrated in the hands of a mere couple thousand people, and they are lobbying our leaders in order to pay even less, year after year.

How much more? How much until you realize you just aren’t valuable as an employee? I’m doing fine.

 

[giusti825]

There was a time in this country where every dollor over $25,000 was taxed at 94%.

In that era, for every 1 dollar the worker paid in taxes, the corporations paid $1.50.

The balance and tax burden has shifted dramatically. For every dollar the worker puts in, corporations put in 25 cents despite an extreme growth in productivity.

This was before the Trump tax cut.

 

[whougonnacall]

Do you have a point to make? Or do you honestly believe that the only reason you're not a billionaire is because you're lazy?

I don't honestly believe that people are this brainwashed; that they believe that Billionaires are the hardest working people on the planet.

You were lazy in choosing not to be born a koch,trump or walton etc

 

[cincymma79]

There was a time in this country where every dollor over $25,000 was taxed at 94%.

In that era, for every 1 dollar the worker paid in taxes, the corporations paid $1.50.

The balance and tax burden has shifted dramatically. For every dollar the worker puts in, corporations put in 25 cents despite an extreme growth in productivity.

This was before the Trump tax cut.

Did the government take in more total dollars before or after?

 

[HatchetHarry]

And that progression needs to be much more steep, obviously. Income inequality is becoming more wide, wealth more concentrated in the hands of a mere couple thousand people, and they are lobbying our leaders in order to pay even less, year after year.

You have 1% of the population pay 45.7% of federal income taxes. The system needs to become regressive to fix inequality issues. Thankfully this issue is being addressed with tax reform. People like you disgust me

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

Walmart goes into towns and monopolizes an area, forcing small businesses to close down. Leaving them as one of the only places to work.

Then they pay their employees slave wages and their employees must use government assistance to live. Which is subsidized by the working classes the most.

Walmart then benefits even further by having the estate tax cut. Once again effecting the working classes to make up the loss in tax revenue.

Who benefits the most from this? Well the Walton family of course. They made a fortune off of standing on their workers backs and giving back almost nothing to Society.