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Bye and Bye: Washington State Moves Toward a “Wealth Tax” As the Wealthy Move to Leave the State
jonathanturley.org ^ | December 22, 2024 | Jonathan Turley

Posted on 12/22/2024 8:12:25 PM PST by lasereye

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I just posted this article a couple of days ago about how Bill Gates claims to believe he's not paying enough taxes. He says that government doesn't have enough money to meet its "obligations" and that people like himself have to do more.

But at the same time, he said he won't pay more than he's required to, because "taxes aren't meant to be optional". He explained that he wants all the billionaires to pay more. That does not strike me as a very convincing explanation.

It just so happens that Gates lives in WA. Interestingly the article also noted that Gates criticizes Washington's tax code because it doesn't have an income tax, which lets people like himself get off with paying too little taxes.

I kind of hope this WA wealth tax goes into effect just to see how Gates tries to get around it by moving out of the state, fighting it in court etc.

1 posted on 12/22/2024 8:12:25 PM PST by lasereye
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To: lasereye
'...he said he won't pay more than he's required to, because "taxes aren't meant to be optional".'

What does that even mean?
2 posted on 12/22/2024 8:16:05 PM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: lasereye
He says that government doesn't have enough money to meet its "obligations" and that people like himself have to do more.

But at the same time, he said he won't pay more than he's required to, because "taxes aren't meant to be optional".

Saw that too. Yes, his explanation was nonsense.

3 posted on 12/22/2024 8:21:45 PM PST by FreeReign
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To: Jamestown1630

It’s an evasive non-answer. It basically means nothing.


4 posted on 12/22/2024 8:23:13 PM PST by lasereye
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To: lasereye
If the rich of Washington are going to remain democrats and democrat donors, they might as well remain where they are.

They will just screw up wherever they move to and wonder why their new state goes down the tubes too.

5 posted on 12/22/2024 8:24:41 PM PST by Mogger (AreIn bookstores is a very expensive, beautifully bound in green leather Holy Koran. If one was goin)
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To: Mogger

Exactly.


6 posted on 12/22/2024 8:26:19 PM PST by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: FreeReign

Thou shall not covet.


7 posted on 12/22/2024 8:27:40 PM PST by Fungi
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To: lasereye

There was a New York Mayor who, when he found out El RushBo left New York due, in part, to the insane taxes, the Mayor stated: “if I knew that would make Rush leave, I would have raised taxes years ago.” About a decade later, another New York Mayor stated:”we can’t keep raising taxes on the rich, because they will leave. They are the ones funding New York.”


8 posted on 12/22/2024 8:40:36 PM PST by Ronaldus Magnus III (Do, or do not, there is no try)
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To: lasereye

paying taxes is VOLUNTARY! or so the IRS says anyway...
so PAY what you feel is your fair share, and fire your TAX accountants while you’re at it


9 posted on 12/22/2024 8:40:42 PM PST by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: lasereye

As our state has a budget surplus.


10 posted on 12/22/2024 8:42:36 PM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
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To: lasereye

He has been putting his money in his foundation to avoid taxes. Now there is nothing that is preventing the rich from paying more, they can.

I can tell you a simple way the rich can pay more, just don’t take any deductions for charitable giving , pay the extra taxes and problem solved.


11 posted on 12/22/2024 8:49:31 PM PST by Captain Peter Blood
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To: Fungi

Well said.


12 posted on 12/22/2024 8:50:27 PM PST by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: Jamestown1630

“taxes aren’t meant to be optional”.’

What does that even mean?


It means taxes will be collected with an iron fist.


13 posted on 12/22/2024 8:57:00 PM PST by Colinsky
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To: lasereye

In my experience that $250,000,000 limit is very fungeable. Soon it will be down to down to a few million. There’s no way they can collect any meaningful tax this way with a $250,000,000 threshold before the tax kicks in.


14 posted on 12/22/2024 9:10:14 PM PST by McCarthysGhost
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To: Jamestown1630
This issue has been raised forever. For example, here's an article from the Wall Street Journal fifteen years ago (tiny excerpt available from paywall). Maryland tried to tax its millionaires with a higher income tax bracket and they all fled. State revenues went DOWN. Maryland didn't even consider a wealth tax like Washington is doing.

State governments are so stupid that they believe the rich will stand still to get eaten.

Millionaires Go Missing
Maryland's fleeced taxpayers fight back.
May 27, 2009

Here's a two-minute drill in soak-the-rich economics:

Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year (i.e., 2013), so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay...[end excerpt]

15 posted on 12/22/2024 9:11:16 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (Marxism is a politics for the ugly, unwanted, uneducated, unhealthy, and insane.)
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To: SkyDancer

It’s easy to have a budget surplus. Florida has one every fiscal year. It’s that silly law that makes a balanced budget mandatory, and has hard rules for how the next fiscal budget will be calculated based on the current years income. It almost always comes in a little low versus actual revenues. That gives the Governor a little largesse to spread around. The surplus has been used to see teachers, police, and firefighters get bonuses, or schools get some extra money, or we have several no sales tax days each year. What a concept. return the money to the people.


16 posted on 12/22/2024 9:42:01 PM PST by Waverunner
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To: McCarthysGhost

Only the richest will pay this wealth tax. Just like the federal income tax.


17 posted on 12/22/2024 10:29:55 PM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: Organic Panic

Those who work, innovate, build businesses and employ people pay taxes while lazy people sit back and live off the results of their hard earned money. We have way too many “takers”! Instead of 87,000 more IRS agents we need we need 87,000 Social Security Disability/SSI fraud investigators.


18 posted on 12/22/2024 10:41:51 PM PST by TonyM (Score Event)
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To: Chode

filing is voluntary

paying taxes is not

the irs will file a return for you and send you a bill


19 posted on 12/22/2024 10:54:49 PM PST by joshua c
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To: FreeReign

It’s not a tax if he simply “donates” money to the Treasury. So donate away, nobody will stop you.

What a moron.


20 posted on 12/22/2024 11:13:38 PM PST by aquila48 (Do not let them make you "care" ! Guilting you is how they. control you. )
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