General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Tax Deductions are a HUGE form of welfare, and the richest people are getting the most welfare [View all]Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)As the government does not tax at a 100% rate any tax revenue not realized due to charitable deductions would still mean the giver is accepting a net "loss" in income they spend for their own personal benefit and the amount donated is more money for social programs than the government could spend on similar programs.
If someone donated $10,000 and because of that their income rate saw a deduction that lowered their tax burden by $1,000 they are still donating $10,000 to charity and not using it to their personal benefit. They're still paying $9,000 MORE to social work than the government would be able to do had they not taken the deduction. In other words, they am putting NINE TIMES more benefit into society than the government would be able to do.
Even if they were taxed at 90% they would still be donating more than the government would not realize in revenue.
What is more important: taking money that doesn't belong to you or actually helping people?
This ridiculous adversarial attitude towards investments would actually result in a net loss of revenue for the government because if people stop investing no goods and services are produced and no wages are paid to produce those goods and services. That means the economy grinds to a halt and no revenue coming from the economy; no personal income taxes, no sales taxes, no corporate taxes, no investment income taxes.