In my view, a teacher should not pay more in income tax than the wealthiest person in the country.

[Uncle Joe]

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[FoxNewsSucks]

1. No one who works for a living should pay more. Rate or total amount.

And that's the opposite of what we have in this country today.

[GB_RN]

15. Winner, Winner!

10% of your income at $30k hurts a lot worse than 10% of your income at $200k or even $1 million. You desperately need that $3000 for food, rent, etc. You don't need that $20k or $100k quite so much. And I guarantee that at $200k and $1 million of income, they've got tax breaks that the teacher making $30k won't ever see, and thus, won't really pay that $20k or $100k in taxes.

[Igel]

25. Most making less than $40k/year pay no federal income tax.

Can't say much about state income taxes. My state has none. Previous state's was way too high.

There have been years when I was making $50-55k/year (wife, the same) and our effective federal tax rate was less than 6%. If we had two kids, it would have been a lot lower. Meanwhile, the media were exploding about how Buffet paid less in taxes than his secretary (who, presumably, made more than me, but that didn't matter. People making less than me, with lower effective tax rates, took away the message that Buffet paid less than them.)

But they looked at marginal rates. Because rates is rates, I guess. Buffet's effective tax was significantly higher than mine, even with most of his being unearned income.

[BittyJenkins]

2. Guess what

Most of the teachers and workers are women.
My dad was raised in a one room school house by two sisters. He made it through 7th grade and had to become a share cropper to support his family.

The teachers we’re supported by the community. The my pretty much had to live like nuns. Things have not changed.

To be a teacher now, you need a master’s degree. Your starting income is disgraceful. It has to do with most teachers are women. Women do not deserve as much as men for some damn reason.

[former9thward]

3. Musk is paying 13 billion this year in taxes.

So I don't think Bernie has anything to worry about.

[Uncle Joe]

4. Do you mean his corporation?

I believe Bernie is talking about income taxes.

[former9thward]

6. No, his personal bill.

And correction, its 15 billion not 13 billion.

Elon Musk faces a $15 billion tax bill, which is likely the real reason he’s selling stock

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/07/elon-musk-faces-a-15-billion-tax-bill-which-is-likely-the-real-reason-hes-selling-stock.html

[Uncle Joe]

8. You're talking about capital gains, not income tax and the other shareholders are paying his bill.

Is Tesla the best performing stock?

Ford became the best-performing auto industry stock last year, beating investor favorite Tesla as it doubled down on an all-electric future.Jan 4, 2022

Ford Beats Out Tesla As Top Performing Car Stock Of 2021

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-beats-tesla-top-performing-210000621.html

It was, until late last year.

[former9thward]

10. That is like saying if you sell your home the buyer is paying the capital gains.

And it's false. You are paying the capital gains. And a stock holder pays capital gains -- not other shareholders. His income from salary was zero so he does not have income taxes. The implication that he does not pay taxes is dishonest in my view.

[Uncle Joe]

14. The problem with your analogy is, everybody doesn't own your home.

Every stock-owner has a direct stake in any particular corporation.

Furthermore a home being a tangible asset with shelter always being a requirement, while stock is basically just paper signifying ownership in a corporation.

Today nation wide, major corporations are trying to buy real estate up at an incredible rate to be used as rental property, if/when all that conglomerates into a handful of people and if they have a huge capital gains tax bill forcing them to sell vast quantities of real estate driving down or suppressing the price of your home's value, then your analogy might be more apt.

The stock owners of Tesla are indirectly paying Musk's capital gains tax.

[former9thward]

23. When it comes to capital gains all tax payers own your own to use your analogy.

Home owners can use a capital gains exemption to exclude $500,000 of gains (with a spouse). This means all taxpayers are subsidizing the exemption -- using your analogy not mine. Capital gains from a house is not a requirement -- it is a benefit to those who can afford home ownership. At least as many people, if not more, get a benefit from stock retirement funds than from capital gains from a home.

[Uncle Joe]

24. I don't believe so, currently real estate ownership is much more dispersed.

The wealthiest 10% of Americans now own 89% of all U.S. stocks held by households, a record high that highlights the stock market’s role in increasing wealth inequality.

(snip)

“The top 1% own a lot of stock, the rest of us own a little,” said Steven Rosenthal, senior fellow, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

(snip)

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/18/the-wealthiest-10percent-of-americans-own-a-record-89percent-of-all-us-stocks.html

(snip)

The homeownership rate of 65.4 percent was 2.0 percentage points lower than the rate in the third quarter 2020 (67.4 percent) and virtually the same as the rate in the second quarter 2021 (65.4 percent).Nov 2, 2021

(snip)

https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf

[iemanja]

5. What matters is his effective rate

Not the amount. That's how you gage fairness of the tax system.

[former9thward]

7. What is his effective rate?

On 15 billion in taxes?

[iemanja]

9. An effective rate is based on his income

which he doesn't disclose. If you make a billion in a year, $13 million is tiny tax burden. It all depends on his income.

[former9thward]

11. He does disclose it.

It is required by the SEC. Income in 2020 zero. 2019 24,000. 2018 56,000.

https://marketrealist.com/p/how-much-did-elon-musk-make-in-2021/

And its 15 Billion not 13 million.

[iemanja]

12. The fact that the richest man in the world claims a zero income

shows just how corrupt the system is. On top of it, he's an anti-vaxxer POS.

[viva la]

13. Never comment on a tweet calling out Elon Musk for paying so little in taxes.

There are all these Elon fanboys who attack anyone who dares to even suggest that he should pay some taxes. "He lives very humbly!" (Yeah, right.)

"He pays thousands of workers so that THEY can pay income tax!" (Uh, I thought he paid them so they could build cars for his company.)

"He is too good to be taxed!"

"He takes only (some tiny amount, $1) in salary!" (But makes millions a month on stock and options and dividends.)

"You little taxpaying peon! Who are you to judge St. Elon!"

[appalachiablue]

16. Bam Bernie K/R

[Hoyt]

17. All for increased tax rates on wealthy, increased capital gains rates, tougher estate tax laws, etc.

But I get tired of these stupid memes from populist candidates. Misinformation -- whoever is spreading it -- is not a good basis upon which to develop fiscal policy, shor or long-term.

The fact is that the top 10% pay over 70% of income taxes. Maybe they should pay 90%, but these populist memes don't get us anywhere.

[Meowmee]

18. It's also obscene that my elderly father was murdered during the pandemic

And that young healthy people were eligible to be vaxed before he was. He should say that too.

[Farmer-Rick]

19. The filthy rich pay a smaller percentage then I do on income

"The analysis from OMB and CEA economists estimates that the wealthiest 400 billionaire families in America paid an average of just 8.2 percent of their income—including income from their wealth that goes largely untaxed—in Federal individual income taxes between 2010 and 2018. That’s a lower rate than many ordinary Americans pay."

It is lower than I pay and I'm just a retired farmer. https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/09/23/new-omb-cea-report-billionaires-pay-an-average-federal-individual-income-tax-rate-of-just-8-2/

[aggiesal]

20. We should pay teachers like babysitters !!! ...

[BigmanPigman]

21. I did the math...

this former teacher did the math and Sanders is correct. We teachers know it. We would make more as babysitters, a lot more. As our school district fired support staff, increasing the teachers' daily work load, were we given more money? No. Were we given more respect? Hell no!

As a passive aggressive person, the more work they dumped on us the more I chose not to complete. Tough shit. I have too much self worth and self respect to allow this practice to continue. As the site Union rep, I knew the real story. It is another way for schools to function as a business. Teachers and students are nothing more than numbers to them. They DO NOT CARE! Teachers are known to be low paid workers since they "love the children" more than putting food on their own tables. School districts take advantage of this caring disposition. Bullshit!

[whathehell]

22. Certainly not..Even Warren Buffet shares that opinion.

It's outrageous.

[Kaleva]

26. According to this site. Musk has an income of somewhere between $37k and $54k a year

"Tesla pays Elon Musk the mandated California minimum of about $54,000 (minimum California wage) but he does not cash his paycheck."

"Well, by law, the companies employing Elon Musk are required to pay him at least minimum wage. As Musk bases all of his companies in California, that is a salary of around $37,000 a year. However, Musk doesn’t accept a salary, and instead opts to have it accumulate in a Tesla bank account."

https://www.quora.com/What-are-Elon-Musk-s-annual-earnings?share=1