Income Tax
When I go to teach at my workplace, a salary is given to me in exchange for my personal services (my expertise and time). I am trading my labor for money … not “gaining” income. There is no profit involved for me, only an exchange based on the fair market value of the labor and services that I provide.
With this in mind, I am a bit confused about how “income tax” works. Is the federal government really taxing me for something that is I have traded for? Can this idea be extended to other exchanges … like one CD for another, a ride for a conversation, or a fantasy football trade? Where is the line drawn when no profit is involved?
I’ve been reading up on the sixteenth amendment and it’s only getting more confusing. It was never ratified properly, and even a read of this 61-page document published by the IRS raises more questions than answers.
Do you understand this better than me?
October 6th, 2007 at 3:20 pm EST
Move to Florida (or Texas) where there is no income tax!
On a more serious note, I hear you man - I have a hard time understanding how the government justifies the VERY high percentage of money they take from me (via taxation). Then again, I’m not an economist, and the specifics of state and national economies is beyond my understanding…
October 7th, 2007 at 6:55 pm EST
isn’t the government just trading the labor it does for YOU for your money. I mean it is mandated, but is it really that much different than your job?
October 7th, 2007 at 9:39 pm EST
That’s a good point. Though I would argue that, as a healthy middle class single predominantly pacifist white male, almost all of the work my government does is for other people. It’s not an exchange … it’s me paying my bloated and inefficient government to provide services for other people.
It’s interesting how we talk about America’s freedom while conveniently ignoring how “mandated” things (i.e. taxes, social security, social programs, the military, insurance) have socialized our system. And it’s particularly remarkable to me how blurred the lines are between “capitalist” America and “communist” China.
October 8th, 2007 at 3:10 pm EST
This is a lot more involved discussion than this posts comment area has room for. Keep in mind that I spent years getting a degree in economics and in the end you discover that there is little consensus. Some people think it is a good thing that the governments largest portion of spending is wealth transfers. Others don’t. Everyone who responds here will have a different opinion based on what they think the role of government ought to be.
Personally, I say long live the Constitution and the Republic. But I am just someone who fears a “well-meaning” government.