Capital gains should be taxed HIGHER than labor.

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63. i'm reluctant to put a number on it without crunching a lot of data....

because i don't have enough of a feeling for how much revenue would be lost with each incremental increase in exemptions and/or the standard deduction.

i just think that to start taxing a single person after only $9,750 ($3,800 exemption, $5950 standard deduction) seems ridiculous when the federal poverty level for a single person household is $11,170.

i mean, at the very minimum, don't put an income tax on people below the federal poverty level! i know in many cases the earned income tax credit may help this but i don't think everyone qualifies for this and i don't know if it always prevents taxation below the poverty line.

i think something like a zero income tax on the first $25,000 of income sounds much more reasonable (for a single, more for couples, dependents, etc.), though again, someone will probably jump on that and say it would add some crazy amount to the deficit. i know it's a political non-starter, but i think it's profoundly un-american to put an income tax (beyond the payroll, sales tax, etc. they're already paying) on people making rather little.



as for the better law enforcement, it's not really a matter of law enforcement if it's LEGAL to earn money on a different basis. a ceo, for instance, almost always has both an investment and a labor contribution to the business, so it's really easy to just say, pay me on whichever basis gets the better tax treatment.

harder to do with truly passive investors, but a company could create actual jobs and hire these people. however the tax code is written, lawyers would be able to figure out some minimual something these people could do to qualify as doing "labor" and get paid accordingly. maybe they get paid to surf the web or test product at home. point is, there will always be some LEGAL way to do it, it will be figured out, and it will be done.