On 11/19/2011 5:36 PM, John B. wrote:


I wasn't talking about green energy or profits made offshore. I was
simply making the point that multibillion dollar corporations are making
tons of money and not paying any taxes. Why wasn't up to question. The
point is if they aren't paying anything in taxes then who is? I say it's
the average working person who is paying if the corporations are not.
That's pretty clear isn't it?

No it is not clear. What is wrong with a company making billions of
dollars? What is wrong with a company paying the taxes that the U.S.
Government mandates that they pay. which,if I read the article
correctly is just what they did. One can, I assume, equally well say
that Hawke is a sinner for taking the deductions on his personal
income tax.

Nothing is wrong with a company making billions in profits. But that's
as long as they pay a fair share into the treasury. When they pay none
at all it's kind of hard to see it as fair. Simply because they come out
owing nothing due to the peculiarities of the tax code doesn't mean
that's fair. What if the tax code itself is unfair? You can be following
the rules perfectly but that doesn't' mean what you are doing is fair.


I don't think that's right. I think those businesses should be paying
much closer to 30% of all the taxes to the treasury. I also find it
amusing that the average guy, who is paying for everything in this
country doesn't seem to mind that he's paying a lot of taxes and huge
corporations pay none. I find that ironic to say the least.

Hawke

Of course, and people who can afford to hire Tax consultants to
structure their lives also pay less tax then average. Should we shoot
all the H&R Block accountants.

No, but they shouldn't be able to find ways to make it where lots of
money can be made without owing any tax debt, unless it's a special deal
the government is trying to foster.


The point is that following U.S Government laws and regulations is not
a sin and damning a corporation for doing so is simply ridiculous,
isn't it.

It's when the government and the corporation collude with each other and
it harms the majority of citizens that you have a problem. I see a
problem. One privileged group is making out like bandits and the
majority are eating it.


To put another light on your statement, taxing a company 30% implies
that the company will not have as high profits after tax as
previously, and what is the easiest cost to cut? Usually people, so
increasing taxes may well result in a reduction in available jobs, and
even possibly a reduction, however infinitesimal, in the tax paid. Not
to mention an added incentive to move off shore.

China has no problems like this. Business and the government don't
collude in China. In China the government tells business what to do and
they do it, or else. In our country way too often it works out just the
opposite, and it's been going on like this for quite a while not and
that is why there is so much inequality. Business and wealth have gotten
control over a lot of the government. That has caused a lot of misery
among ordinary Americans.


Your claim that a big company should pay a higher percent of their
profits as tax then a company that does less business is simply
rewarding mediocrity. If you work hard and prosper the government
takes more of your money than taken from the drone who is too lazy to
work.

That is not how the market works. The harder working company makes more
than the lazy company. That's a crock. Plenty of companies that don't do
well work like dogs but just don't succeed that well. It's more about
the popularity of products than about hard work. I'd wager all the phone
companies work just as hard as Apple does when it comes to making and
selling phones. It's just that Apple's phones sell a lot better than
their competitors. Apple makes more than the other phone companies so
they pay more in taxes. I don't say their tax rate should be different
from their less prosperous competitors. I say corporate tax rates should
be higher than what working class citizens are paying.



After all Hawke, you have bragged about the fact that you have a
collage education and that you are financially secure, don't have to
work any more. Exactly the same description applies to people in the
bottom half of the top 1%. Collage education, worked hard, invested
their money, now financially secure through their own endeavors. Does
that mean that Hawke should pay more taxes?


If I make more money than they do then yes I should. But if I only
barely make ends meet off of my investments and someone else makes a lot
more from a wage paying job then who should pay more? In that case I say
it's about how high is your income not how did you come by it. If I make
30K a year from investments and the other guy makes 120K from his job
then he should pay the higher rate.

Hawke