I’ve often expressed my chagrin over Warren Buffet’s pontificating that his taxes are too low and so all high earners should pay more taxes.
Now Bill Gates’s father has jumped on the bandwagon and is helping fund support for a new millionaire’s tax in Washington state.
He riles me more than Buffet. At least Buffet created his pile of gold. This guy’s major claim to fame is providing young Bill with some DNA. Now, he lives a lavish life as part of young Bill’s live-in posse.
Give me a break …
And, oh yeah, before you tell me how philanthropic Buffet and Gates are, remember (1) most of their gifts are forthcoming when they die — allowing to retain the the power of their wealth until they’re long gone, and (2) all of their giving is specifically directed to causes they care about, and managed by members of their posse.
Why don’t they just turn over their accumulated wealth to the the government right now?
Answer: they’d lose their power as super-rich guys … and even they know that most of the money would be wasted on wacky, ineffective programs.
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According to Art Laffer in the WSJ …
It’s one thing to believe in bad policy. It’s quite another to push it on others.
But Mr. Gates Sr.— a retired lawyer— is now trying to have his way with the people of the state of Washington.
Mr. Gates Sr. has personally contributed $500,000 to promote a statewide proposition on Washington’s November ballot that would impose a brand new 5% tax on individuals earning over $200,000 per year and couples earning over $400,000 per year. An additional 4% surcharge would be levied on individuals and couples earning more than $500,000 and $1 million, respectively.
If Mr. Gates Sr. and his son feel so strongly about taxing the rich, they should simply give the state a chunk of their own money and be done with it. Leave the rest of Washington’s taxpayers alone.
The 11 states where income taxes were adopted over the past 50 years are: Connecticut (1991), New Jersey (1976), Ohio (1971), Rhode Island (1971), Pennsylvania (1971), Maine (1969), Illinois (1969), Nebraska (1967), Michigan (1967), Indiana (1963) and West Virginia (1961).
Each and every state that introduced an income tax saw its share of total U.S. output decline. Some of the states, like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio, have become fiscal basket cases. As the nearby chart shows, even West Virginia, which was poor to begin with, got relatively poorer after adopting a state income tax.
WSJ, The Bill Gates Income Tax, OCTOBER 5, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882404575520241519315372.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
The Homa Files 