It’s at around this time of the year I am usually inclined to write something about taxes. I’ve pretty much spent the last few days preparing all of my tax information and going through my expenses for my deductions and such. It really is such a stressful process trying to get everything together for the business and personal usage, as well as all of the different investments. No joke, every time I am thinking about investing somewhere else, one of the first things that comes through my mind is thinking about how much extra tax preparation it’s going to be for me and whether or not the profits will be worth the additional effort and organization.

Some people make it out to be a patriotic thing to want to pay your taxes and contribute to your country. Honestly, if everyone actually did pay some taxes, it would change the tendency for people who don’t pay anything in taxes to just vote themselves even more handouts. Unfortunately, with the way the system is now, the more money you make, the higher the percentage goes for what you owe. And even as you earn more money and pay higher percentages on your taxes, people still are going around and stirring class warfare, saying the rich are not paying their fair share… and that is just not true.

According to data provided by the federal government, estimates for who pays what amount of the total taxes are below.

Facts on Who Are Paying the Majority of Taxes

  • The top 1% pay about 20% of taxes.
  • The top 10% pay about 50% of taxes.
  • The top 40% pay 85% of taxes.

If one year the top one only pays 19% of the total taxes, liberals take this as the rich getting a break and not paying their fair share. That is literally the kind of logic they use to fight for their agendas. In reality, the top income earners (on an individual basis) are paying drastically more in both amount and as a percentage of their income than lower-income earners. However, that affects the splits on what the totals turned out to be and is unrelated to what is fair or unfair on an individual basis. What we end up with is class warfare and a discouraged society that doesn’t have motivation to thrive because the more they work, the more gets taken away from them.

I think what bothers me the most is the unfair redistribution of wealth. Society is conditioned to see people as either rich or poor, and class warfare gets waged and promoted by politicians. It’s this idea that if someone makes over a certain amount, they are responsible for more of the costs than someone who doesn’t earn as much money. The flawed rationale the government has is that after they “allowed” you to keep enough of their money, you should happily give back the excess since you don’t need it to live comfortably.

It’s amazing how it’s in the name of taxes and government that this redistribution of wealth is palatable for everyone. Imagine Applebee’s billing people based on income. If three different people walked into the restaurant and ordered the same exact meal, it’s customary that they all would be charged the same price because they got the same service. Wouldn’t it be ludicrous if the server brought back the bills based on income, rather than goods received?

The lowest income earner pays nothing, the guy who makes the most pays double the regular price, and the average income earner pays the regular price. Most people would see this as unfair and know that basing what someone should pay solely on income is not ethical. All three individuals are getting the same exact service and food, but are being discriminated based on income. I’ve used this analogy with some of those that are passionate about stealing other people’s money, and they usually don’t deny the logic behind it. Most people would see that I know there is something inherently wrong with this picture, but when it’s done through taxation and government, most people see it as ordinary and reasonable.

The reality is when it comes to government and redistribution of wealth, it’s even more drastic than the Applebee’s example, because lower income earners use more government resources than those who make more in general. This really tips the scale for how unfair the system is.

I believe that when people get handouts left and right, they don’t have a reason to improve their situation and make more money. Why would the guy getting his meal for free at Applebee’s be incentivized to earn more money, when the two people he was sitting with actually had to pull out their money and pay for their own food and essentially pay for what he got as well?

When it’s all said and done, it’s unrealistic to be so extreme as to not have any sort of taxes that pay for society the way it is, but it is unfair that people who receive benefits from the government get to vote in elections. This is a super controversial opinion I have, but I feel that people who don’t have any skin in the game should not be allowed to have a say in decisions that don’t cost them anything and put larger burdens on the people that contribute to society.

This is my rant on taxes for the season. Next week, we’ll be back to making money!