NYT - What Could Raising Taxes on the 1% Do? Surprising Amounts

[Ferd Berfel]

When it comes to paying taxes, most Americans think the wealthy do not pay their fair share.

There is a sharp divide, however, between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to taxing the rich, who provide most of the cash for political campaigns.

All the Republican tax proposals, in fact, cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans. Democrats, on the other hand, are prepared to raise taxes at the top, though they have not been very specific about how they would do so.

(snip)

It is “absurd” to argue that most wealth at the top is already highly taxed or that there isn’t much more revenue to be had by raising taxes on the 1 percent, says the economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel in economic science, who has written extensively about inequality. “The only upside of the concentration of the wealth at the top is that they have more money to pay in taxes,” he said.

(Snip)

Raising their total tax burden to, say, 40 percent would generate about $157 billion in revenue the first year. Increasing it to 45 percent brings in a whopping $276 billion. Even taking account of state and local taxes, the average household in this group would still take home at least $1 million a year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/17/business/putting-numbers-to-a-tax-increase-for-the-rich.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

This assumes that you also kill their tax loops holes and actually make them PAY!

[Hoyt]

1. I think raising wealthy's taxes is a no brainer, but assuming you could even get that 45% enacted

it might cover half the deficit without even touching other needs like health care, jobs, social security, welfare, mental health, etc. Increased taxes is a start, but we'll have to do a whole lot more.

[uhnope]

2. KR

[Sherman A1]

3. K&R!

[hifiguy]

4. And let's get a meaningful estate tax back in place

to prevent insane multi-generational agglomerations of capital.

Exempt legitimate family businesses thusly - whatever tax rate would be due is reduced on a sliding scale for ten years. Hold and operate the business, the less tax you'd pay over the ten year period, after which there would be no taxes other than normal capital gains taxes if the heir/owner sold the business after the ten-year window closed.

But tax huge piles of cash and financial assets at very high rates.