Well, if you're not part of that top 3%, why bitch? BTW, they don't pay "most of the income tax in America." In percentage terms, they actually pay less than average citizens of modest income.
there are a ways you can deal with US financial institutions as a foreigner. there are plenty of brokers in Luxemburg or other financial havens who can buy US securities for a corporation(domiciled outside the US) which you manage. there are also Trust arrangements that can be made so the 'person' doing the transactions with the US institutions are the lawfirm which helped you setup the trust.
If you look at the numbers, the rich are far from being destroyed and high taxes do not necessairly mean faaling apart of the economy. Just look at the tax rate in the US since WWII. The rich used to pay a lot more so did the companies. fast forward 50 years and despite record tax cuts to the rich and corporation, the average Joe is in debt up to his neck and the economy is tilting over. As a matter of fact the rich and the companies pay a lot more in Northern Europe and yet the people are doing OK and their standard of living for most of the population is much higher than in the US. Go figure?
The top 3-5% provide most of the tax revenue. But this is simply because the disparity in income is beyond absurd levels. As a percentage basis of their income, the top 5% pay a small amount. There are plenty of loopholes & strategies for them to pay a fraction of what they truly owe. Those caught in the $100k-500k category get hit hard, that's definitely true. They don't have the financial operations to grab the lucrative tax loopholes but they make enough to get taxed at the highest bracket. Regardless, taxes hurt the most at the lowest levels.
LOL, but this is America, where greed trumps all and those who don't make a certain amount are considered "losers" and "worthless". Meanwhile many of those "worthless losers" are growing the food that we all eat, but hey, buying & selling paper back & forth is considered a more noble profession. Go figure. Putting aside the real causes behind how the world is now, it is the corporate taxes which need to be raised, especially for the large caps. Large corporates have gotten the largest tax breaks, then come the ultra rich, then the very poor. Middle class & the lower upper class have been getting the real tax pain but they are now tapped out.
Data? On what do you base this assertion? And if that data includes FICA, don't bother. For workers making less than about 113K (can't remember the exact number), they get back slightly more from social security than they put in. For workers who pay more, they collect significantly less than they pay in. Since SS is "forced savings", you can't count it as a tax for the middle income. It's a small tax for anyone in the top income bracket.
The top marginal tax rate stood at over 90% after WWII, until Kennedy reduced it. The average tax rate <i>actually</i> paid by the top 20% of earners? 23%. In fact, the average tax rate paid by everyone was 23%. And <i>That</i> is why you did alright. As a matter of fact the rich and the companies pay a lot more in Northern Europe and yet the people are doing OK and their standard of living for most of the population is much higher than in the US. Go figure? [/QUOTE] Spoken like someone who has never lived in Northern Europe - or anywhere in Europe for that matter. GDP per capita is about equal to Alabama's and their standard of living is well below that of the United States - unless you consider waiting 8 months for chemotherapy and being denied dialysis because you're over 60 "a higher standard of living". I love it when my pinko-commie friends go to live in Europe for a while. They're usually screaming to come home after a month.
Oh, and as for corporate tax rates in Europe being higher than the U.S..... The average corporate tax rate in the EU is 26% - compared to 39% in the U.S. But you just keep thinking that taxing prosperity is going to get you more of it!
Why don't you look up some financial statements and see exactly how much corporations really pay as a % of their earnings. Then compare it with Europe. As for the rest of your comment, come on. Taxing prosperity? Like exec pay? Lawyers? Hedge fund hotshots? Plastic surgeons? Gee, with that type of prosperity it is a shocker this nation is in the toilet. I know the solution. Cut taxes for the super-rich and make tax rate on the rest at 50% & increase it every year. That should work. It did for feudal empires.
To get your numbers for corporate tax numbers you have included Eastern Europe. I have no idea how Romania's tax rate somehow reflects the tax rate of Northern Europe or even Western Europe. Nice bending of facts to get a desired outcome. Now as for the taxes in Western Europe here is a quote from Herlad Tribune: "With an average corporate tax rate around 29 percent, Germany will be on about the same footing as Britain, which stood at 30 percent at the beginning of the year, according to the consultancy KPMG. France is now slightly higher, at 33 percent, while Italy at 37 percent" Now those taxes used to be much higher (Sweden 60%) and were lowered very recently, therefore one cannot attribute W. Europe's wealth to the recent reduction. quiet the contrary, yet that somehow escaped your logic.