[quote=pri_dk][quote=CA renter]IMHO, the most egregious part of our tax policy is the lower tax rate for those who don’t even work for their money. There is something horribly wrong with our country when financial speculators pay a lower tax rate than “line workers.”[/quote]
And I agree.
But it also doesn’t much matter.
Most “line” workers pay an effective tax rate of far less than 15% (the capital gains rate.)
Your effective rate is always far less than your marginal rate. Someone making even $100K/year will almost always pay less than 15% of their income in federal taxes.
(Look at the “summary page” on your Turbo Tax PDF printout to see your effective tax rate.)
In order to have an effective tax rate above 15%, a couple would likely be earning more than $200K. Not exactly people who are struggling.
And what about dividends, taxed at 15%? There are lots of old people/retirees collecting them. Why don’t they just “work” for their money?
So the 15% capital gains rate is not as egregiously unfair as it may appear. Nevertheless, I am in favor of a tax policy where all forms of income are treated equally. After all, both labor and cash are forms of capital – they should be treated the same.
But no matter what the tax rates, I an NOT in favor of future tax receipts being used to cover the current shortfalls in public-sector pensions.[/quote]
Maybe we have a horrible accountant, but we pay more than 15% even though a large portion of our income (mine) is investment income, much of which is taxed at 15%. Yes, I’m the first one to comment to our accountant about how unfair that is, too.
