France has taken taxation to new heights! Imagine paying taxes in excess of what you earn! Think its impossible? Ha!!
Only an insane socialist could try to do this! Socialism is simply a deathwish for the productive members of a society.
Headhunter
You should do every thing you can to support your country. You’re unpatriotic if you don’t.
Trust you to grab some amazing claim which isn’t really accurate and do sprints with it…
Yes, they have high tax rates.
Imagine being worth more than $100 million. The horror.
So what, they are allready fleeing the country.
[quote]Dawg1 wrote:
Imagine being worth more than $100 million. The horror.[/quote]
All facetiousness aside, is it not the dream of capitalism and the promise of the rewards of entrepreneurship and innovation which advances us as a people? For the most part?
So whenever some government thinks it can cash in on its ability to tax by stripping its most resourceful citizens of those rewards, is it not a natural reaction to try to escape that tyranny?
I’m not the least bit surprised to see this article. OF COURSE they are going to move. Just another reason to scoff at the French government.
I can imagine being worth $100 million. Your problems don’t go away, they just change.
[quote]Dawg1 wrote:
Imagine being worth more than $100 million. The horror.[/quote]
Imagine being forced to give away what you’ve earned and already paid taxes on. The horror.
[quote]lothario1132 wrote:
All facetiousness aside, is it not the dream of capitalism and the promise of the rewards of entrepreneurship and innovation which advances us as a people? For the most part?
So whenever some government thinks it can cash in on its ability to tax by stripping its most resourceful citizens of those rewards, is it not a natural reaction to try to escape that tyranny?
I’m not the least bit surprised to see this article. OF COURSE they are going to move. Just another reason to scoff at the French government.
I can imagine being worth $100 million. Your problems don’t go away, they just change.[/quote]
Those most resourceful citizens also benefit from government infrastructure to a greater extent than the common joe. Taxes are an investment in the society you live in.
[quote]grew7 wrote:
Imagine being forced to give away what you’ve earned and already paid taxes on. The horror.[/quote]
Property taxes really aren’t much different than wealth taxes are they?
[quote]Dawg1 wrote:
Those most resourceful citizens also benefit from government infrastructure to a greater extent than the common joe. Taxes are an investment in the society you live in.
[/quote]
I pay more for something because I can use it better?
The majority of taxes are for investing into infrastructure?
Lets say people felt that they allready invest enough and wont invest no more?
What then?
[quote]Dawg1 wrote:
Those most resourceful citizens also benefit from government infrastructure to a greater extent than the common joe. Taxes are an investment in the society you live in.
[/quote]
Correct. And the point of diminishing returns on an investment in the tax-based infrastructure is reached well before a 100% taxation rate.
Let’s not forget that society is built upon opportunity. Common sense tells us that it is important to maximize productiveness of as many citizens as possible. Those “untouchable” rich guys are the ones who create opportunity by running large businesses, providing jobs for many many others.
Having dreams of success and a leisurely retirement are not homage to Mammon and avarice, it is the impetus for doing anything innovative and useful on a large scale which pays off for so many people in so many ways.
Prime example: Bill Gates.
Hate him for being successful (if a bit shady back in the nineties), but what is he doing with his retirement? Only funding and marketing the largest charity to have ever graced this planet… no big deal. It is useful for a society to have a few very very powerful citizens capable of such things, IMHO.
If the US was like France, there would be no Bill and Melinda Gates charity, and the world would be a poorer place for it. I don’t see anybody else stepping up and vaccinating the entire third world… do you?
[quote]lothario1132 wrote:
Dawg1 wrote:
Those most resourceful citizens also benefit from government infrastructure to a greater extent than the common joe. Taxes are an investment in the society you live in.
Correct. And the point of diminishing returns on an investment in the tax-based infrastructure is reached well before a 100% taxation rate.
Let’s not forget that society is built upon opportunity. Common sense tells us that it is important to maximize productiveness of as many citizens as possible. Those “untouchable” rich guys are the ones who create opportunity by running large businesses, providing jobs for many many others.
Having dreams of success and a leisurely retirement are not homage to Mammon and avarice, it is the impetus for doing anything innovative and useful on a large scale which pays off for so many people in so many ways.
Prime example: Bill Gates.
Hate him for being successful (if a bit shady back in the nineties), but what is he doing with his retirement? Only funding and marketing the largest charity to have ever graced this planet… no big deal. It is useful for a society to have a few very very powerful citizens capable of such things, IMHO.
If the US was like France, there would be no Bill and Melinda Gates charity, and the world would be a poorer place for it. I don’t see anybody else stepping up and vaccinating the entire third world… do you?[/quote]
Great post!
You have some points lo, but i didnt know there are so many millionares in this forum. If you earn less than 100k a year your of way better in france or germany.
Id shoot myself if i had only 7 days of vacation a year(i have 28 paid, unrestricted unpaid), and the 35 hours i work a week are more than enough in my mind.
The worst thing for business here arent the taxes, but the
infamously insanse german bureaucracy.
It’s France, who cares?
[quote]orion wrote:
I pay more for something because I can use it better?[/quote]
Progressive taxes address the issue of inelastic household budgets for the lower and middle classes.
[quote]orion wrote:
The majority of taxes are for investing into infrastructure?[/quote]
Here’s a better breakdown of my generic term “infrastructure”:
[quote]orion wrote:
Lets say people felt that they allready invest enough and wont invest no more?
What then? [/quote]
If you have the money your options are numerous.
[quote]lothario1132 wrote:
Correct. And the point of diminishing returns on an investment in the tax-based infrastructure is reached well before a 100% taxation rate.[/quote]
The income effect is thought to cancel out the substitution effect. The economics of taxation make for an interesting topic.
[quote]lothario1132 wrote:
Let’s not forget that society is built upon opportunity. Common sense tells us that it is important to maximize productiveness of as many citizens as possible. Those “untouchable” rich guys are the ones who create opportunity by running large businesses, providing jobs for many many others.
Having dreams of success and a leisurely retirement are not homage to Mammon and avarice, it is the impetus for doing anything innovative and useful on a large scale which pays off for so many people in so many ways.
Prime example: Bill Gates.
Hate him for being successful (if a bit shady back in the nineties), but what is he doing with his retirement? Only funding and marketing the largest charity to have ever graced this planet… no big deal. It is useful for a society to have a few very very powerful citizens capable of such things, IMHO.
If the US was like France, there would be no Bill and Melinda Gates charity, and the world would be a poorer place for it. I don’t see anybody else stepping up and vaccinating the entire third world… do you?[/quote]
A large number of robber barons were American were they not?
[quote]ALDurr wrote:
It’s France, who cares?[/quote]
Right on!
[quote]Ken Kaniff wrote:
The worst thing for business here arent the taxes, but the
infamously insanse german bureaucracy.[/quote]
yes, part of the government infrastructure that was built by my money and which I enjoy every day…
[quote]Dawg1 wrote:
Progressive taxes address the issue of inelastic household budgets for the lower and middle classes.
[/quote]
What you are really saying here is that they have no money left you could “tax” away from them and so you are trying to squeeze the last drops out of the “rich” before, finally, trying to deal with bureaucracy and government pork?
[quote]Dawg1 wrote:
A large number of robber barons were American were they not?
[/quote]
And they still benefit from it. Your point is?
[quote]lothario1132 wrote:
Prime example: Bill Gates.
Hate him for being successful (if a bit shady back in the nineties), but what is he doing with his retirement? Only funding and marketing the largest charity to have ever graced this planet… no big deal.[/quote]
Wait, are you praising Bill Gates, one of the most openly liberal people in this country, and a great patron to the ultra-liberal Stanford University (he basically donated a whole building to us)?
The same Bill Gates that is a close friend of Warren Buffett, another bleeding heart ultra-liberal that was a potential candidate for the Green Party in 2004? The ultra-liberal Warren Buffett that just donated a boatload of money (several billions) to Bill Gates’ foundation instead of leaving it for his children?
So, are you saying not all liberals are eViL? In fact, are you saying that limo-libs are actually a great thing?
[quote]lothario1132 wrote:
It is useful for a society to have a few very very powerful citizens capable of such things, IMHO.[/quote]
You mean, powerful liberal citizens? Yes, I agree. I’d even say we don’t have enough powerful liberals in this country. Fortunately the two richest men on the planet are ultra-liberals, but we need more.
Ah, by the way, if you’re thinking about praising Oprah next, remember that she’s a liberal too.
[quote]lothario1132 wrote:
If the US was like France, there would be no Bill and Melinda Gates charity, and the world would be a poorer place for it. I don’t see anybody else stepping up and vaccinating the entire third world… do you?[/quote]
Do you really believe that Bill Gates’ motivation was money and that if taxes were higher in this country he wouldn’t have as much money as he does?
I honestly thought you were smarter than that.
This is just an example amongst many, but as recently as May 2005, Gates said in an interview that he wished that he was not the richest man in the world. Clearly higher taxes would not have been a hinderance for him.
Also, you do realize that donations are fully tax-deductible and that his foundation pays no taxes, right? You also realize that is also the case in every single European country, i.e., that generous billionaires get humoungous tax breaks in those countries too, right?
And you also do realize that even though Bill Gates’ foundation has been great at spreading direct help, they have refused to support more sophisticated education initiatives, like the one from the MIT to create a $100 laptop to give all children in undeveloped countries?
[quote]hspder wrote:
And you also do realize that even though Bill Gates’ foundation has been great at spreading direct help, they have refused to support more sophisticated education initiatives, like the one from the MIT to create a $100 laptop to give all children in undeveloped countries?
[/quote]
They were probably Apple Laptops.