WSJ - Rich Americans borrow to live off their paper wealth

[Flopsweat]

The laugh-till-you-throw-up line from the article has to be:

"First, making loan proceeds taxable would mark a fundamental shift in income taxation."

Indebting myself would now be income?

Destroy the language: check.
Create rules that encourage secrecy, cheating and promote a black market: check. (Off book loans for the win!)
Invent another "need to know" (how much did you borrow this year, comrade?) reason to gather info on your financial doings: check.
Appeal to simpleton electorate by claiming to target "The Rich": check.

Yeah, it checks a number of 2021 "political good idea" boxes.

I think a minimum tax would be quite palatable if the Federal government weren't spending money like a Biden in a crack house.

 

[The Heretic]

The laugh-till-you-throw-up line from the article has to be:

"First, making loan proceeds taxable would mark a fundamental shift in income taxation."

Indebting myself would now be income?

Destroy the language: check.
Create rules that encourage secrecy, cheating and promote a black market: check. (Off book loans for the win!)
Invent another "need to know" (how much did you borrow this year, comrade?) reason to gather info on your financial doings: check.
Appeal to simpleton electorate by claiming to target "The Rich": check.

Yeah, it checks a number of 2021 "political good idea" boxes.

OTOH - we now allow people to deduct mortgage interest - just the opposite of taxing loan "proceeds".

The problem is the whole concept of an income tax with all kinds of ways around the tax.

Broken record time: Eliminate income taxes. Replace with a flat sales tax, paid on every purchase, every service. No exceptions (everything and everybody taxed, including non-profits of all kinds, including churches/etc.), no subsidies, no minimum income, no exemptions, no deductions, no sin taxes, no rebates. Tax is collected at point of sale.

Unfortunately, this would/could never happen; taxes represent a very convenient way to control the populace thru sin taxes, deductions, exceptions, rebates, subsidies, etc. and too many people benefit from gaming the system. Also, there is the class warfare aspect to it; pitting the low income against the wealthy against the middle income classes - politicians love this game.

 

[Flopsweat]

OTOH - we now allow people to deduct mortgage interest - just the opposite of taxing loan "proceeds".

The problem is the whole concept of an income tax with all kinds of ways around the tax.

Broken record time: Eliminate income taxes. Replace with a flat sales tax, paid on every purchase, every service. No exceptions (everything and everybody taxed, including non-profits of all kinds, including churches/etc.), no subsidies, no minimum income, no exemptions, no deductions, no sin taxes, no rebates. Tax is collected at point of sale.

Unfortunately, this would/could never happen; taxes represent a very convenient way to control the populace thru sin taxes, deductions, exceptions, rebates, subsidies, etc. and too many people benefit from gaming the system. Also, there is the class warfare aspect to it; pitting the low income against the wealthy against the middle income classes - politicians love this game.

I'm not OK with taxing used items. Can you imagine a car that is sold new for $50,000, sold used a few years later for $30,000, then again for $10,000 and then $2,500? Crazy.

 

[monkeybutler]

"If you take a walk I'll tax your feet."

 

[Flopsweat]

"If you take a walk I'll tax your feet."

Sit down and they'll tax your butt.

 

[Provincial]

Sit down and they'll tax your butt.

The actual lyric was:
"If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat."

 

[Flopsweat]

The actual lyric was:
"If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat."

It's a song?

 

[Provincial]

"Taxman" by the Beatles. Written by George Harrison.

At the time it was written, GB tax rates topped out at about 95 percent, and the Beatles were paying that. Perhaps this song was the start of a tax rebellion.

 

[ma96782]

Aloha, Mark

 

[Flopsweat]

Aloha, Mark

Oh, thaaaat song.

 

[The Heretic]

I'm not OK with taxing used items. Can you imagine a car that is sold new for $50,000, sold used a few years later for $30,000, then again for $10,000 and then $2,500? Crazy.

WA state does this with every car sold, used or not - and they will not license it or issue tags/registration until you pay the sales tax. Plus they require a sale be reported, and then will fine you if you don't come in and pay the tax. If they catch you driving around the state with an out of state license plate but a WA state DL, then you pay a hefty fine and have to pay the tax/etc. (maybe even retroactively? I forget). CA is even worse.

But even so, I found I paid a lot less in taxes the 25+ years I lived in WA state. Generally the sales/use tax in WA state amounted to roughly 10% (depends on the city & county who add on their own taxes), about the same rate I pay on income in Oregon, but I always spent less than what I earned, usually less than half. This allowed me to save income without being taxed on it by the state.

 

[The Heretic]

 

[Flopsweat]

View attachment 990991

See, they used to understand freedom.