Posted on 12/21/2024 8:27:20 AM PST by lasereye
Bill Gates doesn't shy away from paying taxes. In fact, he thinks he should be paying more – a lot more. But if he feels that way, why doesn't the multibillionaire voluntarily hand over a bigger slice of his fortune to Uncle Sam?
It's a question critics love to ask and Gates has been clear about his stance. In a 2019 end-of-the-year blog post, he addressed the question: "People pay taxes as an obligation of law and citizenship, not out of charity."
Back in the 2019 blog post, he pointed out what he sees as a fundamental problem: "The U.S. government simply does not bring in enough money to meet its obligations. This isn't a value judgment; it's just a fact." And Gates believes the wealthiest Americans – including himself – should be doing more to close that gap.
Still, the question persists: Why not lead by example and pay more than required? Gates has a straightforward answer. He argues that taxes aren't meant to be optional. Voluntary contributions, while noble, aren't a scalable solution to funding the public good. "If Melinda and I signed over our foundation's entire endowment to the state of California, it wouldn't be enough to fund their public schools for even one year," he wrote. For Gates, a robust tax system – designed to be fair and consistent – is the only way to address inequality and meet the government's obligations.
Gates and his father were early champions of raising the federal estate tax. Gates doesn't believe wealth and power should be concentrated in families just because they happened to hit the jackpot a generation ago.
He's particularly critical of how the current tax system favors wealth over work. Capital gains are taxed at just 20%, while labor income can be taxed up to 37%.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
The U.S. government simply does not bring in enough money to meet its obligations. This isn't a value judgment; it's just a fact.
Here's what Gates didn't say:
The federal budget could be balanced (or fairly close to it) by raising taxes on billionaires.
You could get the impression that he is saying that if you aren't reading it carefully. Although his point about how his entire fortune wouldn't fund CA schools for a single year is a big fat clue that he's not saying that.
So if Gates doesn't think higher taxes on the super-rich could close most of the budget deficit, and he think that the deficits are a problem, why isn't he saying we spend too much? Is it because he's a loyal Democrat, and Democrats simply don't ever say that?
His friend and fellow Democrat billionaire Warren Buffet also keeps advocating for higher taxes on the wealthy. Also like Gates, he keeps complaining that his own taxes are too low. Also like Gates, Buffet never claims that taxing the super-rich would come close to balancing the federal budget. Buffet's proposed solution to remedy this unfairness:
the government should consider increasing taxes for those earning more than $1 million per year, including income from dividends and capital gains.
Buffet's proposed "fairer" tax code would hit people who are nowhere near billionaires like himself. Buffet knows that. It is apparent from what we know about Buffet that he goes out of his way to minimize both his personal taxes and the taxes paid by Berkshire Hathaway. What Buffet really wants is for people in the lower range of rich to pay a lot more, under the guise of himself paying more in taxes.
Like Gates, Buffet refuses to pay more in taxes than he's legally required to (surprise!). So what exactly is going on with these disgusting phonies? Occam's Razor would suggest that this is a talking point to use against Republicans and nothing more. Buffet has declared that he will match any amount of taxes a Republican Congressman voluntarily pays above what he/she is required to. He directed this challenge only at Republicans. That gives the game away. It's just another phony Democrat talking point.
The perfect is the enemy of the “good”.
Nothing prevents these individuals from voluntarily paying more—whatever they think is “fair”.
They would actually help their case if they led by example.
Non answer.
Shocker. Little Billy is a totalitarian!! 😳
Tax welfare enough to pay for welfare?
The US doesn’t use income taxes for anything but control. Has our tax base grown $30bln in 25 years or $8bln in 3 years? They just borrow from the Fed which is a defacto tax on us through a non representative form of tyranny.
He doesn’t pay extra taxes because it would do no good. It would be wasted. The dead would be increased to handle the extra money. Our debt has nothing to do with bringing in more money. It has everything to do with wasting money. Even Bill will likely spend the money in a more useful way. As long as he is not screwing up medical research. He certainly can’t screw it up more than Fauci did.
The really rich think they are exempt from wealth taxation.
Federal revenue matching could be partially or fully based on state wealth taxation revenue.
A share tax on corporations could be levied prorated along the same basis as corporate income tax, to say shore up public employee pension funds.
Affiliated corporations distributed in more than three states could be made federally subject to such share taxation.
Play ground rules to gates: put up or shut up.
“Gates and his father were early champions of raising the federal estate tax.”
I’m 66. I might be able to build a large business by the time I’m 85.
Needless to say, I’ll be waiting until grandchildren want to start a business.
Fleece me once, via federal labor law and federal estate tax, shame on you. Fleece me twice and shame on me.
You shouldn’t promote the picking the pockets of others to try to polish your public image, or to buy your way past St. Peter. That means you, Mitt Romney, Mike Johnson, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
Taxes should be assessed insomuch as possible according to the value of services provided. Social Security is despised by many here, but FDR was on to something.
He’s particularly critical of how the current tax system favors wealth over work. Capital gains are taxed at just 20%, while labor income can be taxed up to 37%.
wages for work are typically paid at the time the work is performed - no inflation impact
capital gains on the other hand is very inflation dependent. If your stock or house value goes up slower than general inflation of the period you are actually losing value in the asset.
Yet you have to pay capital gains tax on appreciation as you lose value.
You can’t be more over taxed than to have to pay taxes while you are losing money (value).
The Brits have something called housing associations.
These are basically apartment building charities that provide lower rent apartments.
If Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are feeling charitable in the coming years, they might consider setting them up in the USA.
Berkshire Hathaway might loan out start-up money to fund businesses to provide employment to their occupants.
This kind of blows the “Demoncrat Sycophants” argument of “tax the rich” out of the water, doesn’t it?
Or, putting it another way, “How do you keep them down on the farm…..”
it’s all about confiscating OUR (Middle class) treasure for them to embezzle.
FEDERAL ESTATE TAX FORM
....
ALLOWABLE DEDUCTIONS
(a) Federal SNAP Benefit Enhancement Fund
(b) Federal High Student Loan Balance/Income Ratio Fund
(c) HUD Housing Association Endowment Fund
(d) PPACA Subsidy Endowment Fund
(e) Federal K-12 Title I Fund
Wut!!?? One of those evil billionaires not paying his fair share?
BURN HIM, BURN HIM!!
Great Britain did not tax capital gains until the mid-1960s.
The UK capital gains tax was inflation adjusted until 1997 as I understand things.
Like his software, he doesn’t believe people should have a choice. Just controlled commands.
“The U.S. government simply does not bring in enough money to meet its obligations.”
Does the US government really need to spend ~$18,000/US resident?
Well then, let’s talk side effects of vaccines that Gates expect various government to charitably cover the cost of treatment and disability in their citizens.
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