• Zorque@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    57
    ·
    10 days ago

    I mean, we get lots of tax breaks, they’re just highly dependent on increasingly arcane rulesets that are ever-changing and still designed to keep you on the edge of poverty. And then they’re paid for with higher taxes in years following.

    • Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      18
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      9 days ago

      If you’re a “company” you get to offset money coming in with expenses and even in the most honest of systems only pay tax on the difference (i.e. the profits).

      If you’re an “individual” you pay taxes on any money coming in and cannot offset it with expenses.

      So even at the structural level the system is designed to be incredibly unfair. That shit you describe is just adding insult to injury.

      • Anivia@feddit.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        9 days ago

        If you’re a “company” you get to offset money coming in with expenses and even in the most honest of systems only pay tax on the difference (i.e. the profits).

        Taxing profits instead of revenue is sensible though, otherwise businesses with low profit margins would be impossible to run. Groceries would be twice as expensive since the supermarket would have to increase their profit margin by a huge amount to not go bankrupt

        • constant_liability@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          9 days ago

          Why do they need a huge profit margin of profit is the money left over after they’ve paid their expenses? And why wouldn’t you want the same system for individuals?

          • Anivia@feddit.org
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            9 days ago

            Why do they need a huge profit margin of profit is the money left over after they’ve paid their expenses?

            Because if they were taxed on revenue, not profit, they would have a higher tax burden than their profit and go bankrupt

            And why wouldn’t you want the same system for individuals?

            If you could deduct all your expenses from taxes the only ones paying taxes would be people saving up their money. I also didn’t say with a single word that I don’t want the same system for individuals, why are you arguing in bad faith and putting words in my mouth?

        • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          9 days ago

          That’s what the “Standard deductible” is on your taxes. Basically “this is what we think it costs to live here for a year, so this money doesn’t count towards your taxes.”

      • ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zip
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        9 days ago

        I mean, the whole concept of the standard deduction is based around exactly that. It’s way to low to actually be that, but that’s the intent.