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New Study on Washington’s Income Tax Initiative (Bill Gates Is Probably Not Happy.)
ATR ^ | 10/26/10 | [Staff]

Posted on 10/26/2010 2:44:15 PM PDT by Andrea19

In next Tuesday’s election Washington state voters will have a chance to weigh in on ballot initiative 1098, a measure that would impose an income tax for the first time in state history.

1098, if approved, would significantly worsen the state’s competitive tax climate by introducing a 5% on high income earners above $200,000 and 9% on income over $500,000. Such legislation serves as a short-term budget fix that also allows Washington to avoid cuts in spending.

A special report, released today by the Tax Foundation, reveals that Washington State scores 11th best in State Business Tax Climate Index as of the snapshot date of July 1st, 2010. However, if the provisions of 1098 had been in place at this time, the state’s tax system would have ranked third to last for economic activity...

Read more: http://www.atr.org/new-study-washingtons-income-tax-initiative-a5516#ixzz13VCGA1EG

(Excerpt) Read more at atr.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Local News; Reference
KEYWORDS: elections; statesrights; taxes; washington
California suggests that the state of Washing follow the Bay State's example...but that somehow seems like a bad idea.

Help promote Conservative activism here & here & here & here

1 posted on 10/26/2010 2:44:20 PM PDT by Andrea19
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To: Andrea19

Good job forcing people out of the State.


2 posted on 10/26/2010 2:47:31 PM PDT by Ballygrl
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To: Andrea19

Nor should anyone in the great state of Washington be happy.


3 posted on 10/26/2010 2:49:50 PM PDT by mainevet (Get an M1911 or two or three or four)
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To: Andrea19

Gee, didn’t Bill Gates move Microsoft from Arizona to Washington because of income taxes?


4 posted on 10/26/2010 2:49:52 PM PDT by MIchaelTArchangel (Obama makes me miss Jimmah Cahtah!)
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To: MIchaelTArchangel

At some point about ten years ago...Gates sent out his team and threaten to possibly leave the US if something wasn’t done about business taxes. I suspect he’s looked closely at Canada on more than one occasion.

For Washington state...if Gates did leave...it’d be a huge mess for them to clean up around Seattle.


5 posted on 10/26/2010 2:53:56 PM PDT by pepsionice
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To: MIchaelTArchangel
I don't think so. As I recall, he worked a deal with the Mits-Altair computer company to write a Basic interpreter for them, but I believe his company was in WA all the time. (I think he started in Bellingham and then moved to Redmond.)
6 posted on 10/26/2010 3:05:44 PM PDT by econjack (Some people are as dumb as soup.)
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To: Andrea19

State politicians are fairly stupid. Years ago, Celeste was governor of Ohio at the time when companies were bailing out to the South. Celeste thought it would be a good idea to levy an “Exit Tax”, amounting to six months wages. He reasoned that this would make companies think twice about leaving. After a few months, Celeste and his team were scratching their heads wondering why no new companies had come to Ohio for the past several months. The idiots never stopped to think that something that prevents you from leaving might also keep you from entering. To his credit, he repealed the tax.


7 posted on 10/26/2010 3:10:09 PM PDT by econjack (Some people are as dumb as soup.)
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To: econjack

Founded in Albuquerque

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Microsoft


8 posted on 10/26/2010 3:22:17 PM PDT by RainMan
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To: MIchaelTArchangel

Actually - they moved from New Mexico. Their first office was in the same town as MITS who made the Altair Computer. I imagine Gates pulled them back to Seattle primarily because that is where he and Paul Allen are from!


9 posted on 10/26/2010 3:27:45 PM PDT by fremont_steve
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To: Andrea19
Ignorant and distressed is no way to go through life. The taxpayers of Washington are getting the government they deserve.

It takes a monumental idiot to not see that the problem nationwide is not lack of revenue, but insane spending at all levels of government.

Stupidity may not be a crime, but it certainly has a very high price.

10 posted on 10/26/2010 3:38:06 PM PDT by Publius6961 ("In 1964 the War on Poverty Began --- Poverty won.")
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To: RainMan

Yep, you’re right...


11 posted on 10/26/2010 4:02:36 PM PDT by econjack (Some people are as dumb as soup.)
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To: Andrea19

A little math:

Gates holds 620M shares
Dividend is $0.64/share (upped recently)
Total income = $400M
Taxes at 9% = $36M
Fed Taxes at 15% = $60M (some deductibility between these two)

Just wait until that Federal top rate is increased to 40%

Thank you Bill Gates for playing.

Of course someone making $105K a year pays a marginal tax on that last dollar of 48% counting deductibility in Iowa (28% tax rate, 15% Social Security, and 9% state income tax). Someone making slightly more gets to see his marginal tax rate go down to about 37% until he reaches $172K.


12 posted on 10/26/2010 4:10:21 PM PDT by exhaustguy
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To: Andrea19

Too bad for Bill Gates. I just read (was a Drudge headline the other day) that Google only paid 2.4% tax.

How can that be?


13 posted on 10/26/2010 5:08:47 PM PDT by janereinheimer ((I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.))
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To: exhaustguy

A little math:

Gates holds 620M shares
Dividend is $0.64/share (upped recently)
Total income = $400M
Taxes at 9% = $36M
Fed Taxes at 15% = $60M (some deductibility between these two)

Don’t thank Bill Gates. He didn’t use his spendable income to buy enough Microsoft goods and services to give himself $0.64 dividend, we did. That $60 million tax liability is paid for by us, the end user of goods and services. It comes out of our spendable income. Not only did we pay for Bill’s taxes, we paid for every dime for all of Microsoft’s tax liability. So the next time you go to buy something, remember over 50% of the sticker price will go to paid for somebody else’s tax liability.


14 posted on 10/26/2010 5:11:56 PM PDT by steveab (When was the last time someone tried to sell you a CO2 induced climate control system for your home?)
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To: janereinheimer
the stockholders pay the rest...
15 posted on 10/26/2010 5:12:32 PM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: Andrea19

Won’t have any effect on Gates.

His wealth grows through unrealized income.

This is true of most of the truly wealthy; their ‘income’ cannot be reached by the tax collector.

Only the middle, and upper middle classes actually pay taxes, with rare exception.
.


16 posted on 10/26/2010 5:16:34 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Obamacare is America's kristallnacht !!)
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To: pepsionice

> “For Washington state...if Gates did leave...it’d be a huge mess for them to clean up around Seattle.”

.
You’ll be able to buy your mansion in Woodenville for a song...
.


17 posted on 10/26/2010 5:20:15 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Obamacare is America's kristallnacht !!)
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To: janereinheimer

> “How can that be?”

.
They move their earnings to favorable locations overseas.


18 posted on 10/26/2010 5:23:20 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Obamacare is America's kristallnacht !!)
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