Taxes

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(03-22-2019, 10:56 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: Interesting. But historically, that wasn't what happened. As I recall, we had a top rate of 70% for about 60 years and really didn't have mass migrations of wealthy people.

Also, I think the lowest incomes of the top 25% here far exceeds the $300K to $400k range.

I'm not so sure about increasing the IRS. After all, the number of returns they would need to look at would decrease 75%. However, it could play havoc on professions like tax attorneys and CPAs.

Yes, we had a top rate of 70% for about 60 years, and not a single soul ever actually paid 70%. My scenario was if you removed all the loopholes, deductions, and the like and actually forced them to pay 70%. If you maintain all the loopholes, it wouldn't work, because people would simply find ways to not have to pay anywhere near that much in taxes, and we couldn't maintain current standards. If you look it up, there are people who did research. When the tax rate was at 70% in 1980, the top 1% only *actually* paid about 23%.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-wealthy-americans-like-jack-benny-avoided-paying-a-70-tax-rate-11547807401
(It's a subscribe article, but the fact that it exists at least tells you I am not just making it up, lol.)

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Also, you are in for a world of shock if you think the top 25% far exceeds the $300-400k range.

https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-income-puts-you-top-1-5-10/

Top 5% in 2017 had an average wage of $299,810.
To break into the top 10% in 2017, you needed to earn $118.400.
To break into the top 1%, $716,766.
To break into the top 0.1%, $2,756,865.

Now those numbers don't include capital gains and such, and is just income, but the point remains. Your scenario would involve taxing 70% on people making less than $100k/yr. That means people making $100k/yr would be only getting $30k/yr. According to the poverty line, if the $100k job was their only income, and it was a family of 5, 70% tax rate would leave them right at the poverty line ($29,420 in 2018).

Where reach people get real rich is stock worth and the like, which isn't "income". That could probably be adjusted, but you sure don't want to go 70% there, or people are going to stop investing in the economy and just hoard all of their wealth like Scrooge McDuck in a vault, rather than put it back into circulation.