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A comment on California plan for wealth tax on anyone who spends 60 days a year in the state. Parent comment

Re:California plan for wealth tax on anyone who spends 60 da... by jandrewrogers on Saturday December 19, 2020 @11:37AM (#25478545)
The taxes from the "1930's-1970's" were not particularly high, that is a misunderstanding of how the structure of the tax code has changed. Net of deductions, taxation hasn't changed that much. You can't look at the nominal tax rates in isolation while ignoring the scope of deduction against those rates.

Eliminating deductions for high-income earners while reducing tax rates on that income is revenue neutral, and generally preferable as a policy.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:California plan for wealth tax on anyone who spends 60 da... by csa on Saturday December 19, 2020 @11:49AM (#25478688)
Thank you for pointing this out.

Many people, especially at HN for some reason, don’t realize that the Tax Reform Act of 1986 made tax rates more transparent which is why the “sticker rate” was lower.

Interestingly, the former tax rates often times screwed the middle class much more, because they couldn’t afford an accountant and/or engage in the wide range of financial maneuvers that could substantially reduce one’s tax burden.

No higher earner ever paid sticker price tax rates when they were that high.

Source: My mother. She has been a tax accountant since the 70s. The Tax Reform Act changed the field considerably.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:California plan for wealth tax on anyone who spends 60 da... by Meekro on Saturday December 19, 2020 @12:33PM (#25479166)
The evidence for this is that federal tax revenue as a percentage of GDP has been 15-20% since World War 2. Massive swings in tax policy have not changed this number, proving that those policy changes were more restructurings than tax cuts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauser%27s_law

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:California plan for wealth tax on anyone who spends 60 da... by wingspar on Saturday December 19, 2020 @12:18PM (#25479015)
Yes, pre 1986 tax reform, personal credit card interest was deductible for any purchase. Crazy times...

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/small-business-taxes/is...

[ Parent | on HN ]