50% of my income is seized as taxes. When I die, the Death Tax takes half of the rest. Is 75% taxes too much?

Answer 1

Your estimates could very well be too low. In addition to the 15% Social security (you earn it, so does it matter that "your employer pays half?"), you have federal and state income tax, all the other mandatory deductions (again, you earn it, so it doesn't really matter the "the company pays") like unemployment and workman's comp insurance. Then when you buy something, the company that sold it to you pays taxes on every part of part and service in its creation. You pay 45 cents a gallon on gas (and so did the store's delivery truck), and huge taxes on utilities, airplane tickets, cell phone service... and sales tax, even on all those embedded taxes!

As for the Death Tax, others ask why you care -- the real question is, "What gives the government the right to take it, again -- it already accumulated after you paid all the taxes in the first place!"

You'd be really surprised how much the governments take.

Answer 2

What nation do you live in?

Do you use some service to help you file your tax returns? Did you know that such business services exist?

For example, in the USA there are places like H+R Block that will advise you on the many things you can use as deductions. For example, if you give to charity, if you had medical expenses, if you pay rent or other lodging expenses, have to pay for a university education. Lots of expenses can be deducted, so that an average US taxpayer will pay maybe 10-25% of their income in taxes.

Similarly, before you die, there are things you can do with your income to ensure that your heirs get far more of your assets than the government in taxes. To achieve this, you spend a really tiny amount of money, less than a single paycheck, with some outfit like H+R Block (which I use when I do my taxes).

Answer 3

drixnot has a correct perspective and the fact tha tour tax system is just backwards from this is a disgrace. And those who do not not believe that taxes can run as high as the positor suggested have just not considered all the angles. A single person earning $75000 will be in that range. For starters (and not liely considred by most who are not already crying enough) is that this person will pay and equivalent of over 15% of his calculated gross (for every dollar you make and pay 7% of your employer also contributes 7%, so you are actually making $1.07 and payinr in 15% of that) in SSA taxes alone. Then with few deductions, as is likely with a younf professional person, they pay -- (what--I haven't examined that area of income tax tables in years) -- about 25%. I suggest that is even low. Okay that is 40%. So, they leave work with 60% of their pay. Then on that 60% they still must pay sales taxes, roughly 6-10% nationawide, gasoline taxes and all kinds of hidden import taxes. I will guarantee you the total tax burden is more than 50% of their gross pay.
What is truly unfair is that the rich have brigades of CPAs and invetment counselors and lots of income available to invest in tax proof capital gains and so can finigle ways to show annual incomes that are ridiculously small while amssing large wealth. A fair system would be a graduated sales tax: no sales tax on necessities like food, medication, transportaion to work --including vehicles, 10% on luxury items: perfumes, expensive hair saloons, expensive clothing, play vehicles, boats, etc and 20% on yachts, airplanes, luxury vacations, expensive jewelry, etc. It would require some defintions and categoration and be refined from time to time but at least the working poor would be better off.

Answer 4

Depends on how much you have to begin with.

Example

Say a person makes 10k a year and taxes are 10% For them 1k is a lot of money and that 10% hurts them a lot. But if another person makes 100,000 the 10k in taxes while a much larger number won't actually hurt them, they can still afford to eat and pay the bills (unless they are really stupid with their money)

Answer 5

You are lying

First off to pay 50% income taxes you would have had to have made the money before Saint Ronald got rid of the 50% tax.

Secondly if you owned Stock and did not sell it. It would never have been taxed. Most big wealth is exactly this kind of money.

Third your death would never be taxed, the name is stupid and only invented to gain sympathy for a reality that can have none.

Fourth No heirs would ever pay any tax on such paltry sums as a few hundred thousand dollars of UNEARNED money .

Fifth even at a few Million dollars the tax is not at the top rates

6TH The only people who would be paying big taxes are about eleven families total, and would not even include Bill Gates heirs, or Warren Buffet's.

7TH That is still so much money that the taxes on everyone else would have to go up to pay the loss.

8th You are spouting imaginary stupidity that you almost certainly will not benefit from, unless you are some layabout expecting some Multimillionaire Uncle to kick off.

In which case you will have enough to be a Paris Hilton layabout in any case as even then most of your unearned windfall would be unscathed..

Answer 6

Yes. God only ASKS for 10%. For the government to DEMAND more than that is just plain wrong.

From a purely secular perspective it is wrong as well. All taxes should be luxry taxes. Taxes on income is a bad idea economically, an affront to the principle of freedom, inefficient, and immoral. Taxing income hurts the citizens ability to pay for necessities (food, shelter, education, etc.). It's just plain dumb.

Answer 7

You bet. The only people who believe it is not are the ones who are not paying taxes and the super wealthy. I support the fair tax plan Boortz talks about

Answer 8

I only pay about 20 to 25% in taxes at the most (maybe less than that). Can you give some figures and back that claim up?

Answer 9

I would suggest:

1) an overhaul of your mathematics skills, as nobody saves all their life's takehome pay until their death

2) loosening your disgust about something that's never going away -- government provides shared infrastructure and services -- and the need for such is permanent

Answer 10

Yep. When Democrats get in, you'll even
end up with less take-home pay. They've
already said they would do away with
Pres. Bush's tax cuts. And if their universal
health care plan succeeds, then look out.