Obama's position on the estate tax

[Major Robert Dump]

I don't follow. You mean that the employer has to pay one sort of tax on wages before, and the employee has to pay another sort of tax after pay day?

In the Neth's employers have to withold taxes on wages too, but legally speaking they do so on behalf of the employee. The employee only has to pay taxes over his wages at the end of the year if it turns out that not enough taxes were withheld in the first place - usually that's the case when he has other sources of income besides his job, so that he ends up in a higher tax tier.

Double taxation is usually understood (here, at least) to refer to a cross-border situation where different tax regime cause a good or service to be taxed twice for the same reason. Lemur's post, while correct, is also rather obvious when you think about it. Every coin and bill, except those recently printed, have changed ownership lots of times and each transaction has been taxed. The "death tax" may sound unfair to people, but at the core it's still about a transfer of money and assets from one person (now dead) to another. There are good arguments against the tax, but not that it's double taxation

Yes, an employer has to pay the government a tax for each head he employs, and then the employee turns around and pays a tax for each dollar he earns.

This is why I am so amused by the left wingers who don't understand business very well, and think an employer should basically be paying for everything related to that employee (insurance etc); there really are people who think that way. Where anyone comes up with the idea that healthcare is the job of the persons employer is just beyond me....

[Lemur]

Where anyone comes up with the idea that healthcare is the job of the persons employer is just beyond me....

Blame World War II.

[Ironside]

Yes, an employer has to pay the government a tax for each head he employs, and then the employee turns around and pays a tax for each dollar he earns.

Is it intended for pensions? I know that our equivalent is used for that.

[Major Robert Dump]

For pensions?? LOL no. It goes into general revenue to be squandered.

@Lemur: Let me rephrase what I am saying here:

I think employee-provided health coverage is great. Freakin Wonderful. Awesome. If a company can do this for its people it will instill loyalty, have a healthier workforce and get pretty good sales when people realize they treat their employees right.

I think requiring employers to provide health coverage is stupid, and in the cases of smaller business, the alternative methods of contributing to employee healthcare plans all turn into a complete money-sink for both the employer and the employee, where the insurance company makes off like a bandit.

I don't see why a company is any more responsible for paying my dental insurance than they are for making my car payment and paying for my funeral. There are probably people out there who would argue that my employer should pay for that, too, as I have heard some suggest that employers also subsidize employees educations

[HoreTore]

Yes, an employer has to pay the government a tax for each head he employs, and then the employee turns around and pays a tax for each dollar he earns.

This is why I am so amused by the left wingers who don't understand business very well, and think an employer should basically be paying for everything related to that employee (insurance etc); there really are people who think that way. Where anyone comes up with the idea that healthcare is the job of the persons employer is just beyond me....

Left wingers?

Ehm, what? A left winger would say that government should pay for everything, of course, not the private sector... Or, of cours, let the state run the entire economy.

[Major Robert Dump]

Left wingers?

Ehm, what? A left winger would say that government should pay for everything, of course, not the private sector... Or, of cours, let the state run the entire economy.

A significant segment of left wing, liberal thinkers in this nation have an "us vs them" mentality when it comes to employers and employees. In many cases this is entirely justified. In other cases, it is understandable, because a person who has been "the help" all his natural life will be inclined to side with "the help." But I feel that a lot of liberals, particulalry the young ones, downplay the whole job creation/continuation in terms of smaller business entities; on the flip side, conservatives overplay their hand and every time businesses have to comply to a new law, the sky starts falling.

The fact that payroll taxes make up an equal amount of revenue for the fed seems as if it is a double edged sword. When employment and GDP is down both of these will drop. As for the estate tax, people will always die, but I would be curious to see what sort of percentage this estate tax would make of the federal coffers based on which filthy rich people died that year. For example, if old man Hilton and old lady Walton died in the same fiscal year, I would be willing to bet that total would be more than 1%

[HoreTore]

A significant segment of left wing, liberal thinkers in this nation have an "us vs them" mentality when it comes to employers and employees. In many cases this is entirely justified. In other cases, it is understandable, because a person who has been "the help" all his natural life will be inclined to side with "the help." But I feel that a lot of liberals, particulalry the young ones, downplay the whole job creation/continuation in terms of smaller business entities; on the flip side, conservatives overplay their hand and every time businesses have to comply to a new law, the sky starts falling.

The fact that payroll taxes make up an equal amount of revenue for the fed seems as if it is a double edged sword. When employment and GDP is down both of these will drop. As for the estate tax, people will always die, but I would be curious to see what sort of percentage this estate tax would make of the federal coffers based on which filthy rich people died that year. For example, if old man Hilton and old lady Walton died in the same fiscal year, I would be willing to bet that total would be more than 1%

Of ciurse they're silly, they're centrists - being silly is part of their job description

(and yes, this was just a meaningless jab at how the political centre in America is pushed way to the right, meaning that your "left wing" is my "centre and centre-right")