Mastodawn

Why is it that the people I always hear whining about taxes are either paying very little in absolute terms because they are (appropriately) in a low bracket, or people with so much fucking money they could be lighting it on fire and have no idea it was gone?

I pay taxes. A lot. I don’t spend hours gaming the system to find every sneaky deduction. If I can afford thousands of dollars in accounting fees, why not just pay it in taxes where some of it supports those in need and services I use?

zombiewarrior 1d ago

@mcnado or they have a giant house, a summer home, an RV, two motorcycles boats jetskis and fourwheelers

like if you're that worried about your taxes going up $35 a year or something maybe get rid of something
move into a less than 5000sq ft house?

Erica Seubert, PhD 1d ago

@mcnado
My inlaws are very well off, not burn money well off but close. You should see their faces whenever they complain about taxes and my husband responds "I like roads and schools, if raising my taxes gives me better roads and schools I'm for it!" Yeah it sucks to pay a lot in taxes, but instead of getting mad at the taxes we get mad at the rich people gaming the system and not paying their fair share. My inlaws don't understand us 🙄🤣

Not sure why you would continue to pay taxes to the regime. None of your money is going to benefit anyone except the extremely wealthy and corporations. Any semblance of a social safety net is GONE.

Matthew Loxton 21h ago

"None of your money is going to benefit anyone except the extremely wealthy and corporations"

Nonsense that is easily debunked by observing the many government services that still exist. Everything from a national park, to roads, to national statistical data.

While the regime may make more of that disappear, you are jumping the gun very dramatically by saying there is no benefit.

@mloxton @mcnado

Trump is selling off millions of acres of national parks if he is permitted. He is cutting Medicaid. You are speaking from the past.

Matthew Loxton 21h ago

He has expressed intention to do those things, and in small ways has done some of them.
You are speaking of one potential future amongst many alternative futures as if it already happened.

These things have not yet happened, and until they do, paying taxes is a very good return on investment

You and I will not come to an agreement on this. I am sitting here without my rights. Come back to me when you have yours taken away by the government you pay your taxes to. Bye.

Matthew Loxton 21h ago

I am happy to accept without evidence your statement that YOU gain nothing from taxes. That's your evaluation of your situation.
I will say you are talking shit if you claim that to be a general situation or a universal case.

You are in the past white man

Matthew Loxton 21h ago

@noondlyt
Oh fuck off with that

I can see with my own eyes what the situation is for myself, my family, my friends, my colleagues - and we are all still getting services that warrant the taxes.
As I said, if you say that you do not, I will accept that as a fact, but you are not going to gaslight me and tell me that right as of now, my understanding of my own situation is incorrect.

Go away

You felt the need to be reply guy to me. So you can fuck right off.

Matthew Loxton 21h ago

@noondlyt
Because you felt the need to reply-guy a friend of mine

You criticized him for paying taxes.
If you criticize the decisions of others, and try to bullshit them, you invite a response from their friends.

Again - If you tell me that YOU get no benefit from paying taxes, I will accept your word on it. If you tell me that McNado shouldn't pay taxes because he gets no benefit, I will challenge that. If you tell me that I don't, I will tell you to fuck off

Edge 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈1d ago

100% agree. Taxes are the dues of society, and I am happy to pay them, if they're going to fund the programs which support people with less than we have.

If they're going into the 1% pocket? I'll have to re-evaluate.

@mcnado These are the same people that want us to measure the success of civilization by how much money they make from it but they absolutely refuse to pay anything back in kind.

If money is the benefit you take out of the commons, it should be the asset you pay in.

Matthew Loxton 21h ago

@mcnado
Exactly

While I resent with fiery passion the annual bullshit game of telling the IRS things they already know, I am completely ok with paying the taxes I do, and I am not interested in finding sneaky ways to gouge as much money back as possible.

Those taxes are needed, and I am happy to be able to contribute.

Billionaires who spend money on reducing their taxes are 99% just freeloading arseholes

SuperMoosie 17h ago

@mloxton
In Australia we used to have a 30 page tax form to fill in. For a simple taxpayer ( one job, couple of bank accounts, couple of deductions)
you would fill in about 8 pages.

Now days you can log into the app. The main stuff is all pre collected and filled in for you. You can nearly just hit submit straight away and you are only a few hundred dollars worse off, than if you spend a bit of time adding legitimate deductions.

MylesRyden 21h ago

I found a great way to not pay a lot in taxes.

I don't make very much money. As a percentage it is probably more than Bezos pays, but in absolute terms it is not much.

thepoliticalcat 17h ago

@mcnado When I was still working I was in the 37% tax bracket. I paid without complaint, because my money was going to feed hungry kids, elderly people, pay for Eldercare, healthcare for the poor, medical care for the disabled ... what would I do with so much money anyway? Bless those the money served. I will STILL GLADLY VOTE for and pay any tax bills that help the poor, the sick, the disabled. I'm disgusted a single penny is going to Muck.

Jon Lasser is Hanging in there 15h ago

@mcnado As far as I’ve observed, a lot of people on the low end of the income scale aren’t mentally separating income tax from the other payroll taxes—social security & Medicare specifically—that absolutely take a bigger bite out of low eaners due to caps on them, and which are quite substantial.