U.S. firms paid more to CEOs than taxes

It makes sense, but it doesn't make it right.

I worked for an organization that went public a few years ago, the company made it so that the average Joe could not purchase shares during the IPO, the shares started at $10.00 but they made it so you could only buy $1000 worth at a time. So what ended up happening was all the executives ended up buying up the majority of the shares. That is the kind of greed and manipulation that some execs will do to ensure they their bottom line is covered and be damned to their staff that make them richer each day.

Just a few weeks back there was huge issue with the US reaching the debt ceiling and arguing about how address the problem. The TEA PARTY's goal is to continue having the rich exempt from taxes, so the country is only supported by the working middle class that is also losing purchasing power each year. It's a very sad state of affairs in the south - if they had any sanity they'd slap a 70% tax on the super rich and get rid of all exemptions. That would solve many of their problems.

Who is classified as "the rich"?

Is there a party that has stated that once someone earns "X" they are completely exempt from paying income taxes?

Then there is this argument that the higher the income the higher the proportion of their income should be taxed. Like 70%...

How is that any more fair?

I believe that People that make larger incomes should pay their fair share, just like those that are low income earners, they still have to pair their fair share as well.

70% is excessive, and penalizes people for being successful in their field of employment.

The more I make now, the more I realize how many different ways we get taxed, GST, PST, Property Tax, Tire Tax, Fuel Taxes, Airport improvement taxes, Income Tax.

Honestly the government should of left the GST alone at 7% and got rid of other taxes that are hidden such as the fuel tax, and the tire tax. It is amazing how much tax revenue the government gets, it is also amazing that they never seem to have funding for the important things but manage to drum up cash to give to the poor souls in the Sudan, or in (insert 3rd world Country here) when we have many internal domestic issues here that need addressing. Take care of things at home, then worry about the rest of the world.

If I make 30,000 per year and pay 10% or 3K.. that sounds fair right?

But if I make 300,000 per year and pay 8% or 24K...am I not paying my fair share?

That's the point I'm trying to make.

The left think that a 20% tax rate on $30k income is unacceptable for someone that earns $300k.

The left believes because someone is more successful they should pay a significantly greater percentage.

The left will ignore common sense in this matter and inject the poor into the discussion. When everyone would agree the poor should get a break (except Manitoba's ndp). But that won't matter...

I agree guys.

This is the best explanation why progressive taxes, especially for the “rich” people won’t work. It is so easy to understand, that even the worse brain death “Left Winger” or Socialist, Marxist, Communist or – as they now like to call themselves “Progressives” can understand it.

Suppose that every day ten men go out for lunch and the tab for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
All for the same meal.
So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men ate lunch every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. He said, “Since you are all such good customers, I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily lunches by $20. Food for the ten will now cost just $80.”
The group still wanted to pay their bill the same way we pay our taxes, so the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six men — the actual ‘paying’ customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his “fair share”? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being “paid” to eat his lunch. So the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same formula based on what was paid, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay!
And so: The first four continued to eat lunch for free (no change)
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $50 instead of $59 (15% savings).
Each of the six who had been paying was now better off than before, and they all still ate the same meal. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. “I only got a dollar back out of the $20 savings,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $9″! “Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got back nine times more than I!” “That’s true!!”shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $9 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!” “Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. This payment system exploits the poor!”So the nine men surrounded the tenth guy and beat him up. The next day the tenth man didn’t show up for lunch, but the other men sat down and ate without him, anyway. When it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something interesting. Between them all they didn’t even have enough money to pay half the bill!

And that, boys and girls, presidential candidates and economic pundits, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much or attack them for being wealthy and they might not show up to eat with us anymore. In fact, they could start eating lunch some other place where the atmosphere turns out to be a lot friendlier.