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Jim Cramer says the loophole that permits hedge fund and private equity managers to pay 15% capital gains tax while the of us pay higher “regular” rates is grossly unfair. Such a slimy loophole clearly shows the corruption in Congress and how they are in thrall to Wall Street 1% bankster parasites.
There’s a great piece from the Economist earlier this month pointing out that the hedge fund managers were the only ones who made big money on their funds–their clients certainly didn’t. “[S]ince 1998, the effective return to hedge-fund clients has only been 2.1% a year, half the return they could have achieved by investing in boring old Treasury bills.”
http://www.economist.com/node/21542452
They also made money by securitizing garbage mortgages, selling them to the unwary, then secretly shorting them.
Then we should all be able to call our compensation for the investment of our time and labor a capital gain. Sauce for the goose and all that…
Does that mean you’d support a federal flat tax rate of 15% with no loopholes? The only problem is of the 8 trillion dollars or so that is reported to the IRS, federal tax revenues would be about 1.2 trillion or so. Barely enough to allow the federal government to operate for 6 months under the current budget.
I think the tax code should be hugely simplified but still progressive.
Start with the refundable credits mega-corps like GE are getting. Welfare queens.
Beware – under a flat tax, most Americans would pay MORE tax, not less. Only the wealthy would do significantly better.
According to IRS statistics, the median AGI for 2009 (the most recent year available) was just over $33K. $113K puts you in the Top 10%, and $384K puts you in the Top 1%.
Using the standard deduction and two exemptions, the median taxpayer would pay only $1,430 in income tax under the existing system for 2009, but would pay $4,950 using a 15% flat tax. (Remember, half of all taxpayers made less money and would pay even lower rates of tax under the existing code).
At $113K AGI, again using standard deduction and two exemptions, under the existing system the taxpayer would pay $16,742 in tax. Using a flat tax they would pay $16,950 – roughly the same.
But a Top 1%-er, making $380K per year, would pay $98,371 in tax under the current system, and only $57,600 using a 15% flat tax.
Whom does a flat tax benefit? Not me, and probably not you.
It should be noted that, like a twice married man keeping a mistress on the side, for the Jew/â€Christianâ€/Muslim/Mormon Cult of Male Domination pulling one over on the taxman is as “American†as grandma’s apple pie, granddad’s pickup truck.