Far-left, Anti-Austerity Party Triumphs in Greek Election.

[laklak]

There already are asset taxes - property tax is the most common. Every year I pay Manatee and Sarasota counties over 7Gs on three properties. That's SEVEN THOUSAND motherfucking dollars. I just sent the state of Florida $290 so I can drive my car and use my boats for another year. Not exactly an asset tax, since it isn't based on the worth of the asset, but it's a similar idea. Does that seven grand reduce wealth inequality? Like fuck it does, I simply raise the rents on my properties to cover that cost. Doesn't redistribute shit. Same thing with capital gains taxes, which are most certainly a tax on the value of an asset, though they're only assessed when the asset is sold. We're looking at a maximum rate of 28% now, and I'm looking at a repossessed home to refurbish and flip. When I sell they'll want over a quarter of my profit. So again, is that going to reduce wealth inequality? Like fuck. I'll either forget about the investment or I'll raise the selling price. If it gets bad enough and they start taxing bank account balances or other assets we'll cash in our chips and move to another country, there are several we could move to tomorrow. Already fled North Carolina, they had a personal asset tax that was costing me another couple of grand a year, so I sold the house up there. They can go fuck themselves.

[Svartalf]

Too many entities are exempted from asset taxes, start with the church and its humongous amounts of real estate.

[MrJonno]

A lot of the best Greeks have fled austerity and unemployment, who gives a shit about taxes if you aren't working.

Let's face it only the wealthy really worry about taxes as only for the wealthy does taxes really make that much difference to the quality of their life.

[klr]

Once in control, however, they may find themselves more constrained by financial matters than election rhetoric would suggest...

Since when have rhetoric and reality ever coincided?

[klr]

Has anyone looked at a list of the parties? It's all very Pythonesque (as in Life of Brian) if you ask me:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_legi ... 15#Results

[piscator]

There already are asset taxes - property tax is the most common. Every year I pay Manatee and Sarasota counties over 7Gs on three properties. That's SEVEN THOUSAND motherfucking dollars. I just sent the state of Florida $290 so I can drive my car and use my boats for another year. Not exactly an asset tax, since it isn't based on the worth of the asset, but it's a similar idea. Does that seven grand reduce wealth inequality? Like fuck it does, I simply raise the rents on my properties to cover that cost.

So, you're saying your county doesn't redistribute your taxes to paint the drawbridges and service those bond issues that built the high school football stadiums? Or are you saying that, as a landowner, you are not represented in your county government and receive no county services, like the ongoing maintenance of property records? Or maybe you're saying your county takes your $$ and sends it to Greece, where it's spent on fake ancient artifacts and mortgage-backed derivatives?

Doesn't redistribute shit. Same thing with capital gains taxes, which are most certainly a tax on the value of an asset, though they're only assessed when the asset is sold. We're looking at a maximum rate of 28% now, and I'm looking at a repossessed home to refurbish and flip. When I sell they'll want over a quarter of my profit..
So again, is that going to reduce wealth inequality? Like fuck. I'll either forget about the investment or I'll raise the selling price.

Welcome to business. You're only in it to get what you want. And you ain't paying property taxes to your county to reduce wealth inequality, you're paying them so you don't have to pay some other strong arm racket to keep your shit and have roads to drive on.
I guess getting an accountant is too goddamn much like work? Go back to shuckin' and jivin' for The Man if you like things simple. He'll withhold 20-30% of your gross out of your paycheck, and match your Federal withholding.

If it gets bad enough and they start taxing bank account balances or other assets we'll cash in our chips and move to another country, there are several we could move to tomorrow. Already fled North Carolina, they had a personal asset tax that was costing me another couple of grand a year, so I sold the house up there. They can go fuck themselves.

Buy yourself an island off Cuba, and start paying for their navy.

[pErvinalia]

Let's face it only the wealthy really worry about taxes as only for the wealthy does taxes really make that much difference to the quality of their life.

Huh?? Taxes affect the working poor more than the rich. The poor have less to live on. That was a strange comment even by your standards, Jonno.

[Seth]

Yeah, expect that's not how economies work. Demand drives economies, not supply.

Demand only drives economies when there is a profit potential for the supplier, or didn't you learn anything from the USSR's debacle.

If there's no profit to be made, nobody with any sense is going to invest their capital in the facilities and employees needed to satisfy the demand.

So, in reality, profit drives economies, demand and supply are merely the vehicles for producing profit. Remove profit and it all comes crashing down.

Are YOU going to labor "according to your ability" in return for what someone else (like a Marxist bureaucrat) decides is to be given to you "according to your need?"

No? Didn't think so.

[Seth]

Too many entities are exempted from asset taxes, start with the church and its humongous amounts of real estate.

Again, a drop in the bucket. If you confiscated all of every church's wealth you wouldn't pay for government operations for a month.

And churches do pay plenty of taxes in the US. Don't know if they pay property tax, I'd have to check on that, but they pay other taxes to fund public infrastructure just like everybody else. What they don't pay is income tax.

[JimC]

Greece may be riddled with corruption, incompetent at collecting the taxes it needs and plagued by excessive bureaucracy, but its industries, agriculture and enterprises in general are in the hands of individuals or corporations, not the state. It is no more socialist than any other western democracy, even if ill-governed.

[Seth]

A lot of the best Greeks have fled austerity and unemployment, who gives a shit about taxes if you aren't working.

Let's face it only the wealthy really worry about taxes as only for the wealthy does taxes really make that much difference to the quality of their life.

And you don't think the wealthy have fled high taxation? Are you stupid or something? I've already told you, capital flows away from taxes like water flows downhill. Especially with today's international economy, the wealthy simply move their capital to a nation that provides a better and more favorable tax structure from one which seeks confiscatory taxation for redistribution of wealth purposes.

[Seth]

Let's face it only the wealthy really worry about taxes as only for the wealthy does taxes really make that much difference to the quality of their life.

Huh?? Taxes affect the working poor more than the rich. The poor have less to live on. That was a strange comment even by your standards, Jonno.

The poor don't pay income taxes, or had that fact escaped you entirely?

And if they pay other types of taxes, such as consumption taxes like sales tax, why shouldn't they? They use the infrastructure of society just like everyone else, and in fact they do so more than "the rich" merely because they comprise half the population of the country, as opposed to 1 percent or 10 percent.

Do you think the poor are entitled to a free ride and ought to be allowed to enjoy the benefits of civilization without contributing anything to it?

Are YOU willing to labor "according to your ability" in order to support someone who doesn't want to work at all and thereby claims poverty as a justification for demanding your labor "according to his need?"

No? Didn't think so.

[pErvinalia]

Yeah, expect that's not how economies work. Demand drives economies, not supply.

Demand only drives economies when there is a profit potential for the supplier, or didn't you learn anything from the USSR's debacle.

If there's no profit to be made, nobody with any sense is going to invest their capital in the facilities and employees needed to satisfy the demand.

So, in reality, profit drives economies, demand and supply are merely the vehicles for producing profit. Remove profit and it all comes crashing down.

Are YOU going to labor "according to your ability" in return for what someone else (like a Marxist bureaucrat) decides is to be given to you "according to your need?"

No? Didn't think so.

More strawmen. You really are a master. No one is talking about removing profit.

[pErvinalia]

A lot of the best Greeks have fled austerity and unemployment, who gives a shit about taxes if you aren't working.

Let's face it only the wealthy really worry about taxes as only for the wealthy does taxes really make that much difference to the quality of their life.

And you don't think the wealthy have fled high taxation? Are you stupid or something? I've already told you, capital flows away from taxes like water flows downhill. Especially with today's international economy, the wealthy simply move their capital to a nation that provides a better and more favorable tax structure from one which seeks confiscatory taxation for redistribution of wealth purposes.

Bullshit. If that was the case, there would be no businesses operating in Scandinavia.

[pErvinalia]

Let's face it only the wealthy really worry about taxes as only for the wealthy does taxes really make that much difference to the quality of their life.

Huh?? Taxes affect the working poor more than the rich. The poor have less to live on. That was a strange comment even by your standards, Jonno.

The poor don't pay income taxes, or had that fact escaped you entirely?

Of course they do? If you work, you pay taxes. Or had that fact escaped you.

And if they pay other types of taxes, such as consumption taxes like sales tax, why shouldn't they? They use the infrastructure of society just like everyone else, and in fact they do so more than "the rich" merely because they comprise half the population of the country, as opposed to 1 percent or 10 percent.

Stop strawmanning. I never said they shouldn't pay taxes. I was refuting Jonno's nonsense that taxation affects rich people more than poor people.

Do you think the poor are entitled to a free ride and ought to be allowed to enjoy the benefits of civilization without contributing anything to it?

Do you think you are entitled to strawman and ought to be allowed to continue to pollute this rational forum with your fallacies?