My focus is on income tax, not sales tax. I’m a fan of sales taxation because it gives the power of taxation back into the hands of the people. But, I digress.The reason I have an issue with exempting someone from tax at any level is because then people can vote themselves better benefits. That’s what you’re seeing going on today. How many people do you think voted in 2012 voted for the person who was going to continue giving them free stuff? That’s the inherent weakness to the “progressive” tax system, because it gives politicians a tool to leverage taxes to get re-elected. For example, how many poor like the PPACA? I’m willing to bet most of them do. And of those with good-paying jobs that provide health insurance, how many like the PPACA? I am willing to bet almost no-one likes the PPACA in that group. So ask the question why that is.It’s simply because the people who have the health plans through work (who also pay for those plans, by the way) know that they are going to be the ones paying for the poor to go to the doctor through the PPACA. And the poor know they’re going to get free care because they pay nothing into the system. The poor have nothing to lose and everything to gain when you start exempting them from taxation. They will never feel it in their wallet, except when that wallet gets filled. But when someone like me, who is firmly in the middle-middle or upper-middle class (Depending on your definition) is being forced to pay taxes, and I see people voting selfishly for more stuff from the government, I start getting angry. And when I start getting demonized because my viewpoint is that I should be able to keep what I earn instead of giving it to someone who isn’t working by choice (because there are a bunch of people out there like this), I start seeing red. Why? Because like my question above: What gives anyone the right to take money that I’ve earned? How is it theirs? I didn’t achieve my success because of the government or its programs. I achieved it because I busted my rump to make it work. I’ve been working since I was 16 years old, worked through college, and have continued to work — sometimes 3 jobs at a time. But somehow I’m the bad guy for wanting to keep the money I earned? How exactly does that work?
My focus is on income tax, not sales tax. I’m a fan of sales taxation because it gives the power of taxation back into the hands of the people. But, I digress.The reason I have an issue with exempting someone from tax at any level is because then people can vote themselves better benefits. That’s what you’re seeing going on today. How many people do you think voted in 2012 voted for the person who was going to continue giving them free stuff? That’s the inherent weakness to the “progressive” tax system, because it gives politicians a tool to leverage taxes to get re-elected. For example, how many poor like the PPACA? I’m willing to bet most of them do. And of those with good-paying jobs that provide health insurance, how many like the PPACA? I am willing to bet almost no-one likes the PPACA in that group. So ask the question why that is.It’s simply because the people who have the health plans through work (who also pay for those plans, by the way) know that they are going to be the ones paying for the poor to go to the doctor through the PPACA. And the poor know they’re going to get free care because they pay nothing into the system. The poor have nothing to lose and everything to gain when you start exempting them from taxation. They will never feel it in their wallet, except when that wallet gets filled. But when someone like me, who is firmly in the middle-middle or upper-middle class (Depending on your definition) is being forced to pay taxes, and I see people voting selfishly for more stuff from the government, I start getting angry. And when I start getting demonized because my viewpoint is that I should be able to keep what I earn instead of giving it to someone who isn’t working by choice (because there are a bunch of people out there like this), I start seeing red. Why? Because like my question above: What gives anyone the right to take money that I’ve earned? How is it theirs? I didn’t achieve my success because of the government or its programs. I achieved it because I busted my rump to make it work. I’ve been working since I was 16 years old, worked through college, and have continued to work — sometimes 3 jobs at a time. But somehow I’m the bad guy for wanting to keep the money I earned? How exactly does that work?