Posted:
#76
Quote Originally Posted by Wake2002:
Also, I really just don't get the position of a lot of posters in this thread. Seems very hypocritical. I know full well, I take advantage of every legal deduction I can to reduce my tax bill. My effective rate is nowhere near my tax bracket.
I guess that makes me a bad American or something?
If not, why should Corporations be expected to do anything differently? They get audited much more frequently than individuals, so anything deemed to be overly agressives and/or illegal, they not only pay it, but also pay penalties and interest on those overturned positions. If the IRS isn't coming down on them, I'm not sure I understand what the issue is
You are not a "bad" American for minimizing your tax burden. You are part of the majority. However, you are also not seeking the Presidency or any elected office, for that matter. This distinction cannot be overlooked, though I suspect many regard it as inconsequential. This is sad.
The overly simplistic thinking usually goes: "If I do it, who cares if anyone else does? We all do, right?" or, "It's legal, so why should anyone care?"
The difference is that you have no ability to legislate the taxes others pay or do not pay, while our elected officials do, often to great extent. Our elected officials need to be held accountable for their ultimate power to legislate our tax code and all its minutiae.
Are they looking out for their constituents? Morality is paramount. It is also in short supply when it comes to our Congress and its legislative execution.
Legality and morality should not be confused. Simply because something is legal does not necessarily make it moral. The two are becoming more equated and intermixed and that is a disturbing trend in our society and especially in our business world. It's a feeble excuse to hide behind legality as justification for any financial action. This whole "carried interest" concept is one example. Corporations are able to influence legislation to their benefit, often with measures that are not accessible to the majority of us. Many are not paying their "fair share"(proportionally) as they have tilted the playing field in their favor. It has only gotten worse over the last 30 years, as corporate influence has strengthened.
Our legislators should be held to a higher standard as they are supposed to be looking out for all citizens' common good, not special interests or providing loopholes to corporations(wait, I mean "people") and campaign contributors. Both parties have members who are guilty of shenanigans and abuses, as we all know. This is not a partisan issue. Corporate money has become interwoven with our political process. They are now inseparable.
I still expect and hope(perhaps foolishly) for some higher level of ethics and morality from our potential elected officials. Obama has left a lot of voters feeling uneasy with some of his own opacity. Romney has had chances to distinguish himself in this regard. He has failed. He has chosen the secrecy route in regards to his taxes, despite his own father's precedent. I expect more transparency and at least a modicum of honesty from someone seeking my vote and with the potential to influence my taxes greatly. We know Obama's history of tax payments and his tax plan, there is no secrecy. Romney's tax plans are not yet concrete, especially which tax breaks he would choose to reduce or close in order to offset his planned reductions in income taxes, capital gains and dividends, AMT and estate taxes. His actions, through his own returns, will provide insight as to how he views the tax code in the U.S. This is important to me as a judge of his morality as well as his position on corporate taxes and how they should be handled. Many may not consider that consequential. I do. Extremely so. That is ultimately your prerogative as a voter. The beauty of America.
In addition, the IRS is understaffed and audited only 1.1% of all returns last year. Don't be fooled into a belief that all corporations' tax returns are vetted thoroughly. Do you really think the corporations are not taking advantage of this in addition to offshoring and other methods of tax avoidance? As it stands now, the effective tax rate is 12.1% on income for corporations, the lowest level since 1972. I would like to know how Romney plans to address these corporate loopholes, as he made closing these a part of his economic plan to reduce the deficit. His tax returns would be a start, since he seems to have enjoyed the benefit of a quite a few of them.
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