Friday, June 18, 2021

Gasoline Tax To Pay For That Trillion-Dollar Green Energy Infrastructure Bill? June 18, 2021

Have the Dems finally found a tax they don’t like?

From Charles Kennedy:
Democrats in Washington have become opponents of a possible gas tax increase to pay for the infrastructure bill as the Biden Administration is vowing not to raise the tax burden on households earning less than $400,000 annually.

"When you have Jeff Bezos making as much money as he is, it is not fair for us to then raise the gas tax," Congressmember Pramila Jayapal of Washington state told The Hill.

Progressive politicians and environmental campaigners want the U.S. to "tax the rich" and not burden the working Americans further with taxes such as a gasoline tax.

Jayapal tweeted last week, "There's NO reason why billionaires like Jeff Bezos should be paying LESS in taxes than working Americans — or paying NOTHING at all. We're going to pass a wealth tax, level the playing field, and make sure the ultra-rich pay their fair share."

Many lawmakers in Washington have realized that increasing the gas tax to pay for the infrastructure plan is not the right course or right decision now, according to The Hill.

"Now"? Is increasing the national gasoline tax ever the right thing to do when the richest folks are not paying federal income tax and are now buying federally-incentivized EVs which pay no road tax at all.

"The ultra-rich"? That would be a start. But how about the simply "rich" also paying their "fair share"?

"Democrats" are becoming opponents of a possible gasoline tax increase to pay for this infrastructure bill. I'm curious: do the Republicans support an increased federal gasoline tax? Asking for a friend.

It's being reported that eight famous US billionaires paid no federal income taxes...

In 2018, Tesla founder Elon Musk, the second-richest person in the world, also paid no federal income taxes. Michael Bloomberg managed to do the same in recent years. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn did it twice. George Soros paid no federal income tax three years in a row. The list includes Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg.

We already have a wealth tax on middle class investors. It's called RMDs.

2 comments:

  1. Whoo-hoo! If it wasn't for the two IPA's I've been imbibing this very evening, I'd be inclined to wax (more or less) eloquently on the merits/detriments of being subjected to the RMA distribution requirements.

    Suffice it to say, a lot of "middle class investors" were snookered into thinking an IRA was an outstanding investment vehicle. Truth be known, once the RMD kicks in, it has magically turned what should be capital gain into ordinary income. I think "middle class" investors (once their IRA was anywhere close to $1.5 mil) would have been a lot better had they made all future contributions to a Roth IRA. But what do I know? Not so much... Just a poor, humble ex-CPA who wishes he had put more (or converted) into a Roth IRA....
    On the other hand, we (and most of your followers) have already been blessed beyond their wildest expectations. It could be a lot worse.. Count your Blessings.

    And so it goes..

    Truly, Hope Springs Eternal.

    Keep the Faith, eh?

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    1. Agree completely. I'm just tired of folks saying we need a "wealth tax" when one already exists, and similar vehicles must be "defined" for the wealthy.

      Except that it's ordinary income, RMDs are probably more beneficial than we think.

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