now that`s a twist-please address how invalid this maybe

[Plane]

There is an ideal rate of taxation, perhaps. If the rate is raised, revenue will be less and if it is lowered revenue will be raised as well. It is the economic equivalent of finding a balance point.

This is likely to vary depending on the economic climate, and certainly depends on tax rates in other places and ways by which taxes can be avoided profitably for the investor.

  The ideal rate must be the lowest rate that can support the optimum government.

   Since that government governs best that governs least the optimum of government is the smallest one that can perform all functions that only the government (and no agency other than the government) can make happen.

       Persons who are paying more for the government than they receive in benefit from being governed should have sales resistance.

[Plane]

The government costs too much for one low tax rate.

I don't see why capital gains should not be taxed the same.

I am opposed to a flat tax. Taxes should be progressive, I believe.

Yes , money itself is progressive.
The less income one has , the less of that income is liable to be discretionary, so that a really poor person might be using 99% of his income on necessities while a wealthy one can make his life continue useing 5% or less income.

A flat tax is not an equal injury to the whole population ,it would tax the weak to injury before it taxed the strong enough to notice.

A simple progression should be sufficient  not much diffrent from what we have now, with a smaller percent for the lower earner and a few stepsto bite deeper into the greater discretionary spending of the wealthy.

But not too many steps nor too great a progression elese you produce a frequent  paradox of someone looseing income by earning too much, a problimatic disincentive to being productive and thrifty.

[BT]

A flat tax is not an equal injury to the whole population ,it would tax the weak to injury before it taxed the strong enough to notice.

And at that point of injury wouldn't the poor man want to know why that tax money was needed? And perhaps cast his vote against any expenditures that were not absolutely necessary?

And isn't that the cause of government bloat, the fact that the poor are protected from the pain of knowing the true cost of government.

[Plane]

A flat tax is not an equal injury to the whole population ,it would tax the weak to injury before it taxed the strong enough to notice.

And at that point of injury wouldn't the poor man want to know why that tax money was needed? And perhaps cast his vote against any expenditures that were not absolutely necessary?

And isn't that the cause of government bloat, the fact that the poor are protected from the pain of knowing the true cost of government.

All right , how about a less progressive tax?
So that no one is getting a free ride  or being protected from bad decisions?
But the harvesting of the fattest feilds isn't shorted.

[Xavier_Onassis]

All of human history indicates that when you have most of the wealth in the hands of the few, then education, health, and nutrition are also in the hands of the few. Development follows all of these. Disparity of income causes lack of progress and innovation and stagnation.

The history of every country in South America indicates this. The same is true of every country in which there is a huge disparity of wealth.

[BT]

If progressive taxation is such a good idea , why aren't all taxes progressive?

[kimba1]

can anyone tell me does progressive tax still stop people from doing overtime?

10 years ago I see alot of folks turning down overtime out of fear of getting to the next tax bracket,but have no problem getting a raise.

does this thinking still exist?

I always thought this is the difference between a successful person and the rest of us.

[Xavier_Onassis]

If progressive taxation is such a good idea , why aren't all taxes progressive?

Because it is not possible. How do you make a sales tax progressive? Give every citizen an ID with his tax bracket on it that must be shown at every cash register, toll booth, vending machine everywhere?

It is physically impossible to make all taxes progressive, and that is why it is not done.
 

[Xavier_Onassis]

10 years ago I see alot of folks turning down overtime out of fear of getting to the next tax bracket,but have no problem getting a raise.

does this thinking still exist?
===================================================
It is stupid thinking by people who  as a rule, do not understand how tax brackets work. If you ask people who say they are avoiding overtime, you will find that they never do their own taxes, and think that they will pay a higher rate on ALL income if they make enough to have their overtime income put them in a higher bracket.

A simplified example: You pay 15% of the first 20,000, and 20% of the amount between $20,000 and $40,000.

So if you make $20,000, you pay $3000. If you make $25,000, you pay 15% of the $20,000, and 20% on the $5000 ($1000), so the total bill is $4,000.

The net result is you make $20,000, and you keep $17000. You make $25,000 and you keep $21,000. (not $20,000). It is clearly worthwhile to earn overtime, all other things being equal.

What a lot of people think, however is that they will have to pay 20% on the entire $25,000, or $5000, so they avoid making that $5000 in overtime, because they simply do not understand.

The problem occurs when the deductions on overtime pay are inadequate or nil, and the poor schmuck has to pay more in taxes rather than getting a small refund.

There are a lot of people who do not understand percentages. Add the concept of brackets to it and they are utterly baffled.

I spent almost as much office time when I was teaching telling how to figure grades to students than teaching Spanish.

I imagine a good place to look for such people would be on Friday, in line to purchase Powerball tickets.

The lottery is basically a voluntary tax on people who do not understand math.