Let's Make the Tax Code Work For Us

[welshTerrier2]

Poll question: Let's Make the Tax Code Work For Us

There have been all sorts of ideas proposed about how to modify the tax code. The goal of the following proposal is to help create jobs and to discourage companies from moving their headquarters offshore to evade paying corporate taxes.

Do you agree or disagree with the following proposed changes to the U.S. tax code?

1. Gains on the sale of investments in any corporation not headquartered in the U.S. will be taxed as ordinary income. Lower capital gains rates will not be available to investors who invest in offshore corporations. So, for example, if Tyco moves their headquarters to Bermuda, all gains on investments in Tyco would be taxed as ordinary (i.e. not capital gain) income.

2. Corporations headquartered in the U.S. will have to report the percentage of their workforce that is comprised of U.S. citizens. Stock brokers would have to provide investors with a breakdown of gains on stock sales allocated by this percentage. The "U.S. percentage" would be eligible for lower capital gains rates. The non-U.S. gains would be treated as ordinary income at higher tax rates.

[lastknowngood]

1. I would suggest that we arrive at a income number

needed to survive at poverty level then use offsets for each child. There should be no tax of any kind on income until they rise above that level. Also they should have an i.d. which should exempt them from sales tax on basic items i.e. food,clothing,fuel, electric medicine. This would require less shift of money to government and then back to the destitute and give them some real help. Income above a determined level should be tax at a higher percentage unless it is directly invested in businesses based in the U.S. and providing jobs for Americans. Any business which provides a full time job for an American should be exempt from a specified amount of income from investment. Just a few ideas.

[welshTerrier2]

3. the main focus

of my tax proposal was, as i stated, to create jobs and to discourage companies from moving offshore to evade taxes ...

the "income number" you discussed is a fine idea but goes beyond the scope of my proposal ... btw, in massachusetts, we do not pay sales tax on food (except in restaurants) or on clothing ... you wouldn't need a special I.D. card to avoid sales tax on these items ... i'm not find of I.D. cards ... necessities should not be subject to sales tax regardless of income bracket ...

[DebJ]

2. "in any corporation not headquartered in the U.S"

okay. So HQ is in the US, but all the workers outside of admin are overseas....then what?

[welshTerrier2]

4. then item #2 kicks in ...

investments in the company you described would be eligible for lower capital gains rates only to the extent that their employee base is made up of U.S. citizens ...

so, for example, x corporation has its HQ in New York but only has 10 people working there ... 90 people work for the company in China ... let's say that you sell stock in this company and make a $1000 profit ... you would receive a statement from your broker that tells you $100 of your profit (i.e. 10% (10 U.S. workers of a 100 worker total)) is eligible for lower capital gains rates ... $900 (90 foreign workers of the 100 total) of your profit would be treated as ordinary income ...

the goal here is to provide a disincentive for you to invest in companies that do not hire mostly U.S. citizens ...

[DebJ]

5. ok. Then what about WalMart? overseas purchases vs home

[welshTerrier2]

6. your question

is a good one but goes beyond the scope of the tax code changes i'm proposing ... nothing implicit in your question about Walmart should preclude the implementation of the tax changes i proposed ... how to deal with our disasterous trade imbalance and its effect on U.S. jobs is well worth investigating ...

there is no question that U.S. citizens purchasing imported goods means that U.S. citizens were not employed to produce those goods ... what i'm less clear about is what remedy to propose ...

for starters, i like Kucinich's ideas about repealing the WTO and Nafta ... it seems to me that the treaties provide a great benefit to businesses so that they can circumvent many of our pro-labor laws by hiring foreign workers ... it just doesn't seem like a level playing field ... i would like to see these issues handled via bi-lateral trade negotiations ...

[welshTerrier2]

7. looking for a few more votes - pro or con ...

tax policy ... oh the excitement ... it's amazing such discussions are even legal ...

actually, this is nothing more than a gratuitous kick ...

[MrSlayer]

8. This is very similar to what I was thinking.

Making it the best interest of American companies to stay at home and hire at home is a great idea.

[welshTerrier2]

9. was hoping for a bit more discussion

perhaps this isn't the most stimulating topic but it really is important ...