The European Tribune is a forum for thoughtful dialogue of European and international issues. You are invited to post comments and your own articles.
Please REGISTER to post.
Let's see... GDP per capita is already higher than median income.
Assume 0% below 1/2 GDP 10% between .5x and 1 x GDP 20% between 1x and 2x GDP 40% between 2x and 4x GDP 60% between 4x and 8x GDP 80% between 8x and 16x GDP 90% above 32x GDP
Your upper-middle class professional making 200k would pay 86.25k which is only 43% - but the point is that someone making 100k and getting a 100k bonus would only pocket 40k of the bonus, and that 100k + 100k is already indecent, if you ask me. At the upper end of the 80% tax bracket (400k) they'd pay 52%. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
They wouldn't get to keep the cash either way, but it could do some interesting things if pushed in certain directions.
Such investments essentially allow high brackets tax payers to get interests on their taxes...
Plus, it means that unlike lower income tax payers, higher income tax payers get to decide which government programs their taxes are spent on. Very undemocratic.
An example : to help service employment, house employee's wages are tax deductible, in France. Which concretely means that if you pay enough taxes, your babysitters eventually cost you half their wages ; that's very regressive... Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
Just to point out that François Hollande, when he said, "I hate the rich" during the presidential campaign, got burned for defining "rich" as someone who made more than 4000 a month. I'd say even those making 8000 a months are not perceived as obscenely rich in Europe.
What do we define as unhealthy inequality ? I fully agree with you that 200 k is already obscene, but that's not the public perception of it. Someone who did well on the property bubble, buying a 200 k house at the low point and selling it when prices have doubled, will be in that bracket ; and that's the case the opponents will put forward.
Even many parts of the upper middle class making that kind of money yearly are not perceived as "one of them" by most of the population. That's the arguments that have been used to push down the rates : it's normal people that are benefiting from lower taxes.
Unhealthy inequality is currently that of the upper percentile of the population, the kind of income that allows one to own large companies, etc. That's income above 500 k, not 100 k. It's possible to make those earning more than 500 k into them ; not as much for those earning more than 100 k. And high marginal rates will be much more viable if they only hit the wealthiest ; as pointed by the Hollande polemic : if you aim too low incomes, the tax rates will quickly come back down. Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
Assume 0% below 1x GDP 10% between 1x and 2x GDP 20% between 2x and 4x GDP 40% between 4x and 8x GDP 60% between 8x and 16x GDP 80% between 16x and 32x GDP 90% above 64x GDP 100% above 128x GDP
I.e., you shouldn't make more than 256k/mo... When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
Assume 0% below 20x GDP wealth 2% between 20x and 40x GDP 4% between 40x and 80x GDP 8% between 80x and 160x GDP 12% between 160x and 320x GDP 16% between 320x and 640x GDP 18% between 1280x GDP and 2560x GDP 20% above 2560x GDP
Assuming GDP/head = 25k, we're talking no wealth tax below 500k, and 20% above 64M. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
Assume 0% below 30x GDP wealth 1% between 30x and 60x GDP 2% between 60x and 120x GDP 4% between 120x and 250x GDP 8% between 250x and 500x GDP 12% between 500x and 1000x GDP 16% between 2000x GDP and 4000x GDP 18% between 4000x GDP and 8000x GDP 19% between 8000x GDP and 16000x GDP 20% above 16000x GDP
The top bracket kicks in at 400M. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
by Frank Schnittger - Feb 7
by Oui - Feb 4 33 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Feb 2 8 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 26 3 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 31 3 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 22 3 comments
by Cat - Jan 25 63 comments
by Oui - Jan 9 21 comments
by Oui - Feb 7
by Oui - Feb 433 comments
by Oui - Feb 311 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Feb 28 comments
by Oui - Feb 2109 comments
by Oui - Feb 16 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 313 comments
by gmoke - Jan 29
by Oui - Jan 2735 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 263 comments
by Cat - Jan 2563 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 223 comments
by Oui - Jan 2110 comments
by Oui - Jan 21
by Oui - Jan 20
by gmoke - Jan 20
by Oui - Jan 1841 comments
by Oui - Jan 1591 comments
by Oui - Jan 145 comments