Death and Taxes

Death and taxes, we have all heard how they are inevitable. We have also heard several very rich men saying that they should be taxed more. I say, great, tax them more. In fact, why don't they start by writing a check today for the proposed difference they would be paying and send it right in, I am sure the government would be glad to accept their gifts.

It is amazing how when we look at the tax records of some of these very rich people we see that they don't give much to charity. Now, don't get me wrong, many of the ultra-rich give a great deal, but many don't even give the 10% they can claim on income taxes. If they don't want to give the money they say they want to right now to the government, how about giving it to charity?

Maybe from now on the government should immediately impose whatever tax these folks say they should have to pay on 100% of their income regardless of source. I'll bet the canaries would be singing different tunes if this were to happen.

Something tells me these rich folks have already come up with a tax avoidance scheme that would shield their incomes such that they won't pay any more than they do now even if the tax rate was set to 75%. All of a sudden, as soon as their incomes were taxed at 75%, their apparent income would drop to the point where they would not pay any thing more in taxes than they already are.

Call me cynical I guess. As soon as some one says "Go ahead, tax me more" you can bet they have something planned to defeat that tax.