Signs of the Times - and a question

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

I know someone who says, if everyone is taxed individually then there is no reason to tax business at all.

It actually makes sense.

Pete

No it doesn't.

Taxing an artificial entity encourages management to pay more to employees. Of course nowadays they often pay more to upper management and less to rank and file, but that's because income taxes are now lower on upper management and they get to keep more of the money. The laborors end up taking it from behind while Rush Limbaugh humps their ears and tells them to protect management. Half the laborers end up having an orgasm and spewing sperm out their mouths that gives birth to even lower taxes for management. Rinse. Repeat.

There is more to taxes than the revenue stream. Taxes are also used to provide a disincentive to activities that are bad for the community. We often forget this.

[piece-itpete]

How does increasing the cost of business encourage paying employees more?

Pete

[JJIII]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

I know someone who says, if everyone is taxed individually then there is no reason to tax business at all.

It actually makes sense.

Pete

Businesses don't pay taxes, they just pass the money from you to the taxing authority after skimming off what they can get away with.

(I think we just said the same thing.)

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

How does increasing the cost of business encourage paying employees more?

Pete

How does it increase the cost of business?

[piece-itpete]

John, LOL!!

Ebac, anything you have to pay out increases cost.

Pete

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

John, LOL!!

Ebac, anything you have to pay out increases cost.

Pete

What gets paid out?

[piece-itpete]

Taxes

Pete

[whell]

Originally Posted by ebacon

There is more to taxes than the revenue stream. Taxes are also used to provide a disincentive to activities that are bad for the community. We often forget this.

Or encourage other activities which are sold to the public as "in the public interest" by reducing taxes on those specific activities. The use of the tax code for social and economic engineering - the government picking the winners and losers - has its occasional success story, but it's also a practice that we all love to hate. It is the core Issue driving some of our favorite political footballs, like these:

- Solyndra
- tax breaks for "big oil"
- ethanol
- Off shoring and outsourcing
- campaign contributions and government for hire
- etc

At the end of the day, I think the case can certainly be made that this practice can be improved upon by simply creating a consistent and predictable tax structure, and then leaving it alone.

[HatchetJack]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

That's not the higher costs of American labor being at fault. It is the LOWER cost structures of the slave drivers that are causing the problems.

Why can't you see that?

If you are talking about foreign companies being able to produce and sell
at a lower rate in this country because they are not saddled down with
too many regulations and being hustled by the union then I'm glad you
are starting to catch up.
Looks like we have two options, we can create some kind of equal trade
laws/ tariffs that protect our well being or we can lower union wages and
benefits and try to hang on. I prefer a mix of both.
Or I guess there is the 3rd option you guys hang your hat on. Just take the
easy way out and demonize and tax our most valuable assets out of business
and hope like hell the government still has some income to take care of you
when all the businesses move overseas because you sent them there.

[HatchetJack]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

The only person I've seen give foreign companies a "pass" here, Jack.....is you.

Never have I given them a free pass. They are the real problem and no one
wants to address that. I have been saying that here for years.