[extropy-chat] Tax Burden Gap

Mike Lorrey mlorrey at yahoo.com
Wed Aug 18 03:40:42 UTC 2004


manage to retain a much higher share of their income than they do in
other countries, and this enables them to accumulate a much higher
amount of wealth than the rich in other countries. 
 
you wronggly assume that the wealthy are even subject to the tax
regieme. theyre not for the most part, at least those who hang onto it
for generations. instead, they keep it in foreign trusts which invest
here but pay no tax here because the foreign trust is a nonresident
alien here.
--- extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org <thespike at satx.rr.com>
wrote:
> At 01:36 PM 8/17/2004 -0700, Chris wrote:
> 
> >Damien forwarded some statistics:
> >
> >>The top 20 percent owns over 80 percent of all wealth. In 1998, it
owned 
> >>83 percent of all wealth.
> >
> >But notice that these are statistics for wealth, not income.  In the
US 
> >(and I have to assume until corrected, in Australia as well) most
taxes 
> >are based on income, not wealth.
> 
> You need to read the full interview I url'd; e.g.:
> 
> < MM: To what extent is inequality addressed through tax policy?
> Wolff: One reason we have such high levels of inequality, compared to
other 
> advanced industrial countries, is because of our tax and, I would
add, our 
> social expenditure system. We have much lower taxes than almost every

> Western European country. And we have a less progressive tax system
than 
> almost every Western European country. As a result, the rich in this 
> country manage to retain a much higher share of their income than
they do 
> in other countries, and this enables them to accumulate a much higher

> amount of wealth than the rich in other countries.
> 
> Certainly our tax system has helped to stimulate the rise of
inequality in 
> this country. >
> 
> However:
> 
> <MM: To what extent is the wealth inequality trend simply reflective
of the 
> rising level of income inequality?
> Wolff: Part of it reflects underlying increases in income inequality,
but 
> the other significant factor is what has happened to the ratio
between 
> stock prices and housing prices. The major asset of the middle class
is 
> their home. The major assets of the rich are stocks and small
business 
> equity. If stock prices increase more quickly than housing prices,
then the 
> share of wealth owned by the richest households goes up. This turns
out to 
> be almost as important as underlying changes in income inequality.
For the 
> last 25 or 30 years, despite the bear market we've had over the last
two 
> years, stock prices have gone up quite a bit faster than housing
prices. >
> 
> Damien Broderick
> 
> 
> 
> 
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=====
Mike Lorrey
Chairman, Free Town Land Development
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                         -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Sadomikeyism


		
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