01-08-2017, 03:04 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-08-2017, 03:05 PM by Warren Dew.)
(01-08-2017, 01:08 PM)David Horn Wrote:(01-05-2017, 10:17 PM)Warren Dew Wrote: It's not really the unearned income treatment that's the issue, though that's part of it. It's more special loopholes like charitable donation of appreciated assets, that allow you to shelter ordinary income while funneling money into a trust that you control, and the loose regulation of those "charitable" trusts. I grant that GHWBush was part of the problem, and the Republican establishment generally up until Boehner was metaphorically beheaded.
Everything you list qualifies as unearned income. I would argue that untaxed inheritance is the most egregious example, but the others are probably just as bad. In all cases, the GOP has backed eliminating taxes that affect the wealthy, arguing that talking money from rich people makes them less likely to hire the idiots that will now be paying their taxes. It's never been true, but fear is a great motivator and a winning argument ... so far.
Just because the problems are concentrated in some types of unearned income does not mean that all unearned income is problematic.
I'm in favor of any inheritance tax that will tax all of Buffett's estate at the maximum rate when he dies. I just don't think that's going to happen, for the reasons I've already mentioned. And all the tax increases pushed by the Democrats would leave him untouched, thus not actually taxing the rich.
The people the Republicans are trying to cut taxes on are really the middle class, including the affluent portions of the middle class, up to those about 10,000 times poorer than Buffett. To me, that's the wrong target. We need to hit the guys at the top.