Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, happens to be a billionaire and a blogger. His public persona comes across as a bit wild at times, but I think he has some very solid wisdom behind that. His blog is worth reading (usually) and he wrote a really interesting article yesterday, Warren Buffett, Taxes and the Presidency.
Warren Buffett has been all over the business press recently suggesting that the very rich, those on the Forbes 400 list, are taxed advantageously to the rest of the workforce. That it makes no sense that his tax bill as a percentage of income is lower than that of his secretary or housekeeper.
He is absolutely right.
Is this a fair system? I don’t know if that is the right question, but I think it would be hard to make a case for the above scenario being the right way to do things.
Its also wrong that those who must live paycheck to paycheck find themselves paying the same amount of taxes on consumables as the super rich. That 8pct sales tax on life’s basic necessities is real time cash out of pocket, a far greater percentage of income and much more expensive money than the federal taxes we pay the following April 15th.
This is a brilliant point. 8% on every purchase for people making under $30,000 a year is going to hurt the wallet quite a bit more than it does for the person making $300,000. A consumption tax is often touted as the most fair tax system, but I think it clearly is not (at least not a flat consumption tax without considerations for income).
Right now I hate paying taxes because I feel like I’m giving money to a known crack addict. However much you give, its not enough. They will buy their crack, get a short term high and soon be back asking for more.
The federal government , whether in Republican or Democratic hands is the same way. No matter how much you give, they are always asking for more, more, more. Always spending on the ridiculous, without remorse and without the ability to restrain itself. Just like a drug addict.
If you are going to raise my taxes, I want somethings in return.
Raise my taxes by 1 pct, by every 1 pct you cut federal spending. Your choice of raising taxes on luxury items, or on annual income of 10mm dollars per year or more. Cutting spending means the government needs to raise less which allows you to raise the income threshold on which you charge this “Forbes 400 surcharge”
This is really the problem. Our government is simply out of control with spending money and nothing can change for the better until that problem is solved.
I also have one more tax suggestion that I think will create so many jobs in this country that it really wont matter what else our politicians do.
If we really want to stimulate job creation in this country, take the same approach to small business with fewer than 25 employees that we take to Internet taxes. Outlaw them.
No taxes of any kind on small businesses with fewer than 25 employees. No employer payroll tax. No state or local taxes. No taxes on earnings. Nada. The business owners will pay income taxes on their personal income they pay themselves, but not corporate earnings
Wow! I really like that idea. Mark Cuban for President anyone? 
There is a lot more in the article worth reading and I recommend you check it out. How often can you get the opinion of the super-rich on taxes and things that could actually affect their bank accounts in a big way? Kudos to Cuban for taking the time to write this.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:01 pm | Ryan Fitblog said:
As good an idea as that is, how do you enforce it? You can’t tax at the time of purchase because it would slow down the transaction. So you would have to tax in April, in which case, the government is relying on everybody not only keeping track of, but being honest about, the purchases they made in the previous year.
There are still definitely some kinks to iron out.
December 13th, 2007 at 9:06 pm | Eden said:
Very true. Certainly no simple solutions, but I hope we can at least move in a better direction some day soon.