Anti-Tax Fervor Closed Their Libraries. Now Residents Are Trying to Go It Alone

Re:Anti-Tax Fervor Closed Their Libraries. Now Residents Are... by chimeracoder on Wednesday October 17, 2018 @05:26PM (#18243969)

> If people want to reduce the tax burden on folks with low incomes just scraping by, the way to accomplish that is by increasing taxes on corporate profits

This is completely wrong.

The poor either don't pay income taxes or pay very little income tax, because the marginal tax rates for low income levels are so low. That's by design.

Wherever the tax is levied - on corporations or on individuals - doesn't affect the incidence of the tax; that is, who really pays, at the end of the day. When you tax corporations, that actually increases the tax burden on the very poor. The amount that they are directly paying in April[0] might be the same, but the total burden of the tax is passed on to both workers and shareholders alike, in the form of lower wages, lower dividends, and lower share prices.

[0] well, withheld in every paycheck, but same idea

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Anti-Tax Fervor Closed Their Libraries. Now Residents Are... by jschwartzi on Wednesday October 17, 2018 @06:57PM (#18244544)

Except that corporations have various tax-reduction tools available that are not available to anyone but the super-wealthy. They can move their profits offshore, move wealth around between holding companies, apply for R&D tax credits, and generally arrange things so as to avoid taxes. Whereas the average middle-class person has virtually no access to these things without leading a very specific lifestyle.

[ Parent | on HN ]