'Absurd!': US Billionaires Pay Lower Tax Rate Than Working Class for First Time

jeffw@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 990 points –
'Absurd!': US Billionaires Pay Lower Tax Rate Than Working Class for First Time | Common Dreams
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Ahhh you aren't using the current definition of "flat tax". Flat tax is a single rate across all incomes. It still includes deductions, exemptions, credits etc.

I don't know the correct term for "no deductions tax". No exceptions? Non adjustable?

Your bracket concept is how it works now.

Flat means no deductions and an equal pay. It can still be done against brackets and be a flat tax.

No brackets work with credits and deductions. Someone with 100k in income could pay zero in taxes. A flat tax makes them pay taxes by removing deductions.

Personally I’d rather see a consumption tax but that freaks most people out.

"A flat tax is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax base. It is not necessarily a fully proportional tax." Wikipedia

It’s however the law wants to define it. All the bills I’ve seen pushed are a flat rate with no deductions.

Have you seen anyone propose a flax tax with deductions? I have not.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/flattax.asp#:~:text=Key%20Takeaways%201%20A%20flat%20tax%20applies%20the,sales%20tax%20are%20a%20type%20of%20flat%20tax.

Employing a flat tax means that taxpayers cannot take deductions or exemptions.

Interesting! I had never heard that definition before. It's always been a single rate across the board with deductions still included whenever I've heard it discussed. I'll believe it though. Investopedia, while focused on the greediest of society, at least knows economics.

edit: weird words changed. swipe keyboard got the best of me.

I’ve never heard deductions being allowed. Maybe a few but for the most part it’s about an equal rate across everyone or at least a few small brackets.

Different plans define income differently. If we are trying to fix the astern income should be everything. Selling an investment home, dividends, selling stocks, w2. Etc.