I know that many list participants are business owners. Just how bad is the problem? Are the numbers misleading? Why did this happen, and who is to blame? It seems to me that when Republicans rail against high taxes, they usually cite income and capital gains taxes as the primary evil. Why don't they focus more on corporate taxes?
The only really painful tax I've had to pay is the 15% self-employment tax. Everything else is a pittance by comparison, since by the time I deduct my expenses, my taxes are relatively low. I always set aside 30% for taxes in a money market account, and live on 50% or less, and when I owe less in taxes because I planned ahead, it's a gift from me, plus dividends! I only borrow short-term and pay off loans quickly. I try to buy only what I can afford [very un-American].
People will invest in companies whether or not the capital gains tax is high or low, as long as they get positive returns. The meltdown is bad, but would hurt more if some my investments last year didn't yield a >30% return. I'm not going to pull out of a market because of higher CG tax. That would be stupid. I'll still have a decent return, except for this year, with mostly cash in MM. The main difference is the low capital gains tax makes it less possible for maintaining the common infrastructure that allows the companies to be profitable, so a moderate CG tax might be better for business than a lower tax.
Yes, the Republicans [not just them either] are playing with numbers to confuse you. They want all of the goodies without paying for them. I always thought that 'tax and spend' was what the gummint is supposed to do [as long as they have a reasonable budget that's good for most people--not corporations], and 'borrow and spend' should be avoided, in order to maintain our sovereignty instead of selling out to foreign entities--and ripping them off by deliberately devaluating the dollar.
That's my bidness philosophy. How about others? ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
