Why do people vote for Hilary and Obama?

[Final-Fan]

Sqrl said:

Final-Fan said:

FactCheck.org is about as neutral and accurate as they come. Here's what they have to say about the FairTax:

http://www.factcheck.org/taxes/unspinning_the_fairtax.html

This is the Treasury Department's graph of who will pay what percentage of tax revenue under the FairTax as opposed to current tax law. Notice how everyone is actually paying MORE except for the extremely poor and very rich?

You should also check out the part about the misleading "tax-inclusive price" tax rate.

In conclusion: the FairTax would be LESS FAIR THAN THE CURRENT TAX SYSTEM. (Giving handouts -- shades of welfare? -- to the poor while effectively dropping taxes on the rich and raising them on everyone else.)

Riiiight... do you realize what percentage of the population is current paying that 53.5%?

If the extreme minority of people is paying a majority of taxes I don't exactly call that fair. I can understand making those who make more pay more. But what you aren't realizing is that the reason this tax is considered fair isn't because it reapportions who is paying what but because it is based on what these groups spend each year.

What could be more fair then applying the same thing to every person and letting the fact that rich people spend more account for the extra they should pay? If anything you are suggesting we punish people for saving money...that makes no sense.

And I will also say that any system that doesn't involve a death tax is infinitely more fair than what we have now. Seriously who the F thought up the idea..."Oh hey...lets go to everyone who has just lost a love one and ask them for money!! And even better is that we have already taxed this when that person earned it so in addition to being a bunch of douchebags for thinking of it we are breaking one of the fundamental rules of not double taxing people...yes this plan is awesome!"

OK, I will admit that we perhaps are using competing senses of the word "fair".

But as for the estate tax:
A) You don't pay shit unless your estate is worth more than $1.5 million. [Correction: $2 million.]
B) You don't pay much unless it's more than $5 million.
C) Most such estates include very substantial assets that have grown in value in nontaxable ways, so
D) "Estates worth more than $10 million were 56.4 percent made up of unrealized, untaxed capital gains." [edit: Or, in fact, it may be much more; see below.]

In short, the estate tax falls heavily only on extremely rich people, who can shut the fuck up about society sqeezing them for cash [edit:  and that goes double for income taxes]; and much of the assets of estates would NEVER BE TAXED if not for the estate tax.

(thanks FactCheck.org: http://www.factcheck.org/article328.html )

"We have found no study disputing these findings. In fact, they may be understated. For one thing the authors couldn't find any way to estimate the unrealized capital gains on art work or other collectibles, which can make up a sizeable part of some estates. More importantly, the very richest Americans aren't covered by this study, because the Federal Reserve Board survey on which the study is based doesn't include them. It is quite likely the averages are even higher for billionaires, whose fortunes are often built on appreciated stock or real estate that would go untaxed at their death but for the estate tax."

Taxable Farm or Business Estates, 2004
		Number of Returns	Average Tax (thousands)	Average Rate
Under $1 million		0		$0		0.0%
$1 - $2 million		190		$26		1.6%
$2 - $3.5 million		60		$190		7.5%
$3.5 - $5 million		40		$449		12.0%
$5 - $10 million		80		$1,322		19.3%
$10 - $20 million		50		$2,832		22.9%
More than $20 million		30		$23,442		22.2%
All		440		$2,238		19.9%
Source: Tax Policy Center, Table T04-0163 Note: Number of returns rounded to nearest multiple of ten.