What do you think should be the lowest income required to pay taxes?

[hyphenate]

With our country in the deep shit it's in now, where should the lower limit be on tax paying?

[silverweb]

1. Dollar figures mean nothing.

The figure should not be rigid and should be based on the poverty level for the specific region of the country. I'd suggest a minimum amount beginning at twice the poverty level for the size of household/region of the worker. It's the UPPER limits of income that we should be really looking at raising.

[Kahuna]

2. Depends on how many people have to live off that income.

nt

[TreasonousBastard]

3. At 5 bucks more than I make. n/;t

[JackRiddler]

4. There should be a single bracket of 50 percent...

Starting at $200,000. Every income earner should have one, single $200,000 exemption and half of anything above that goes to the state, no loopholes.

Income tax contrary to the mythology is inherently regressive. How can you justify taking any percentage from people earning 30,000, or even 60,000? 10 percent of 30,000 is a much greater burden to that person than 30 percent of 100,000!

Now 200,000 is a sufficient amount to live well, hold a house, pay for college bills, etc., and to act as an incentive to work hard.

Up until there, you can argue that it's your work, talent and hard-acquired expertise that earns the money, as opposed to the organization of social forces. So why not keep it?

So what should replace all the lost revenue?

Well, first off, the worst scam in history is war. Shut down all of these bases around the universe which are NOT protecting Americans at all, but performing the opposite function of entangling them in unjustifiable foreign adventures and earning them the hatred of the world. Cut the Pentagon to what might actually be needed to defend the US (about one-quarter of what currently exists). This should be effected through a mutual conventional disarment initiative started by the strongest nation, the US.

But I lied. The biggest scam in history is actually central banking. Stop using interest-bearing credit to cover the federal deficit. As Edison said, it's ridiculous that a government is considered reliable enough to issue an interest-bearing IOU, but it is not supposed to be responsible enough to issue the currency outright (at a far lower obligation!). This is a scam for charging interest that accrues mostly to private banks, when in fact the government could be issuing the currency to cover infrastructural costs directly (i.e., instead of bonds). (This should however be limited to infrastructural items with a tendency to actually stimulate economy.)

That would slice the two largest expenses in the federal budget: war and interest.

Beyond that, as Paul Hawken advocates, gather revenue institute a system of charges on production, resource use and energy. The tax system should be used to create the incentive for ecological responsibility and energy efficiency, and to end the "externalization" effect whereby real costs to health and environment are simply dumped on the community, while profit is kept privatized.

In the end, your average person may end up paying the same in taxes, but they will be doing so through price, as opposed to income. (There should be exemptions for food, health costs, and other necessities.)

A tax on wealth might also be considered, as opposed to income. One percent every few years on whateveryou own above a certain threshold (or beyond the main house).

[Trillo]

5. Two Hundred Thousand and One Dollars.

More of a gut feeling than based upon data. It just seems like it's about that figure that allows one, today, to begin to realize the middle class life. Anything less than 200K is simply varying degrees of poverty given the expenses for food, clothing, and shelter.

200K per year is about $100 per hour. I've known self-employed contractors who worked by themselves who charge about that rate for repairs and such. Last time I checked, automechanics were over $60 per hour, and that was at least 15 years ago, if not longer.

The minimum wage is an abstract insult imposed by the corporatists, no doubt that entites form of humor, at best. You know. Slavery. Ha ha.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. I assume you mean income tax, and it ought to be 50K or so.

[Radio_Guy]

7. $50,000

This is how I think the taxes should go. I will break it down even more simply than my last post so when the freepers show it on their site, they might get it right.

$0 - $50,000 - 0%
$50,000 - $100,000 - 10% on those dollars only (if you make $75,000 you pay 10% on the $25,000 above $50,000)
$100,000 - $200,000 - 20% on those dollars only
$200,000 - $300,000 - 30% on those dollars only
$300,000 - $400,000 - 40% on those dollars only
$400,000 - $500,000 - 50% on those dollars only
$500,000 - $600,000 - 60% on those dollars only
$600,000 - $700,000 - 70% on those dollars only
$700,000 - up - 80% on those dollars only

So if you make $1 million, you still bring home $485,000 which is about what they do now. Millionaires then would have to pay their fair share instead of hiding behind tax loopholes.

[aden_nak]

8. I live in NJ (an expensive state).

You can't really live alone on less than $20 an hour in this state. And I'm not talking about raising a family and covering a mortgage. No college funds are being considered. But if you want to rent even a mediocre apartment in this state, alone, you'd better be pulling down well over $40K per year. In fact, I couldn't find anywhere to live within 30 miles of my last job that wasn't in that price range (my other option was to communte from Newark every day. . . fuck that!).

[Cobalt Violet]

9. 50,000 or more for a single person.

But the rate should get very high at 200,000.

[JackRiddler]

10. kick

[TahitiNut]

11. Poverty level for earned income; $1 for unearned income.

[BlooInBloo]

12. Completely meaningless question until you specify...

... the distribution of people at varying income levels.

But in general, it's fair for those who have benefitted the most from our system to chip in more for it than those who haven't benefitted as much.

[Yavin4]

13. No One Under $35,000 Should Pay Income Txes

Payroll taxes such as SS and Medicare, Yes. But no Federal Income taxes at all. Anyone under $35,000 is living either in poverty or borderline poverty.

From $35-40K, you'd pay 5% on a graduating scale e.g. $36K would pay 1%.

From $40K-50K you'd pay 15% on a graduated scale.

From $50K-$100K, you'd pay 20% on a graudated scale.

From $100K to 200K, you'd pay 30%.

Over $200K, you'd pay 55%, but there would be plenty of tax breaks for investing in America, funding educational scholarships, etc.

[leanin_green]

14. $25,000, because I'd like to at least keep what I make.

I'm one of the working poor. Not because of a lack of education or
willingness to achieve. But because of life circumstances and opportunity. I work two jobs and make just about 25k a year. I don't mind paying taxes but after taxes I'm usually considered impoverished. Hell, if I could be in the 50k bracket, I'd gladly pay taxes and consider myself fortunate.

[iconoclastNYC]

15. It should be based on locale