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Correct me if I’m wrong here.

But isn’t it cumulative?

They pay a certain tax rate on a certain amount of money. So they’re paying 12.2% within the bracket that covers that amount of earnings, then an additional 2.2% only on the income that falls into the next bracket.

So they’re paying the same rate as everyone else on the income within each bracket, right?

I’m sure these medical billionaires made their money in the worst way possible, but to accumulate that kind of wealth they’re generally not earning it as ordinary income.

“Buy, borrow, die” largely avoids income taxes because loans aren’t taxable income.

The issue is far more devious than simply taxing a higher income bracket at a higher percentage.

There has never been a more important issue in our time than the wealth gap and economic inequality.

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lunatic_lobster@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
This is mostly right but I think missing the point. It’s not 12.2% on the first bracket and 2.2% on the second. It’s 12.4% on the first $184,000 and ZERO On the rest. The 2.2% is not the marginal rate they are currently paying, it is the effective rate if you add up all the the paid divided by all the income. It’s so low because people with salaries beyond 184k stop having to pay any of this tax on their next marginal dollar.

And the reason this is a big deal is because this tax revenue is what is used to fund social security payments for older folks. The social security reserve fund that is running out (which will result in a significant run reduction in payment to these old folks) could possibly be all or mostly funded if we made people making more than $184,000 pay the same rate as everyone else.

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- Leviathan@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Damn. How are we not French Revolution-ing these fucks?
  
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  - turdburglar@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    love island, throwback nikes, the return of the mcrib, the soap opera of the trump presidencies; they’re keeping us entertained and mollified
    
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    Tiger666@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Panem et circences.
    
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ItsMeForRealNow@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Same amount maybe, not same rate. If the first 100k is taxes at 30% and the rest is at 2%, someone making 100k pays 30k. But someone making 1 million also pays around 30k + 18k maybe. But for the 100k person the total paid was 30%, and for the 1 million person the total paid was maybe 5% of their total. Warsaw away lower.

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