Philosophy Now Forum

henry quirk wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 1:15 am

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 12:28 am

henry quirk wrote: ↑Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:55 pm or, better yet, do what pretty much any 'murican, who understands gov takes too much and uses it poorly, does: find your own cheats (legal or not)

I know where they are.

Hollywood. That hive of Leftism is full of folks with offshore accounts. That's how they keep revenue from appearing as taxes. And everybody in "the Biz" has one of these things, I'm reliably informed (first-hand, by actual insiders who confessed it to me, thinking I would be impressed with their financial management strategies). And, of course, these same people are ardent Democrats when they vote.

So the next time the media blathers on about somebody cheating on taxes, check Switzerland or the Caymans, if they'll let you. That's where you'll find Hollywood's money.

well, I wasn't talkin' about the lefties so much as I was folks like me...

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 3:42 am

henry quirk wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 1:15 am

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 12:28 am
I know where they are.

Hollywood. That hive of Leftism is full of folks with offshore accounts. That's how they keep revenue from appearing as taxes. And everybody in "the Biz" has one of these things, I'm reliably informed (first-hand, by actual insiders who confessed it to me, thinking I would be impressed with their financial management strategies). And, of course, these same people are ardent Democrats when they vote.

So the next time the media blathers on about somebody cheating on taxes, check Switzerland or the Caymans, if they'll let you. That's where you'll find Hollywood's money.

well, I wasn't talkin' about the lefties so much as I was folks like me...

That's just called taking a tax break. The Hollywood set launders billions. So if anybody's upset about tax cheats, they should start on the West Coast and then the East Coast, and finally get to "flyover country" (a.k.a. the real US) when they've cleaned up the majority of the big rats on the fringes.

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 2:17 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 3:42 am

henry quirk wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 1:15 am

well, I wasn't talkin' about the lefties so much as I was folks like me...

That's just called taking a tax break. The Hollywood set launders billions. So if anybody's upset about tax cheats, they should start on the West Coast and then the East Coast, and finally get to "flyover country" (a.k.a. the real US) when they've cleaned up the majority of the big rats on the fringes.

So if everybody else does it, it’s OK?

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 2:17 pm So if everybody else does it, it’s OK?

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 3:28 pm

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 2:17 pm So if everybody else does it, it’s OK?

Is it okay to take a legal tax break? Absolutely. And how much one makes has zero to do with what one is allowed to do in that regard.
But what Hollywood does isn't legal. It tax-evasion, pure and simple.

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 3:44 pm Trump does legal tax evasion. Still anathema.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:47 pm

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 3:44 pm Trump does legal tax evasion. Still anathema.

Shouldn't be. If it's legal, it's legal.

There's no law written secretly in the universe that says we owe taxes at all, in fact. The only laws that say so are human laws, conventions of a particular society -- and if that particular society decides X is a tax break, then it's a legit tax break...as legit as anything can ever be.

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:42 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:47 pm

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 3:44 pm Trump does legal tax evasion. Still anathema.

Shouldn't be. If it's legal, it's legal.

There's no law written secretly in the universe that says we owe taxes at all, in fact. The only laws that say so are human laws, conventions of a particular society -- and if that particular society decides X is a tax break, then it's a legit tax break...as legit as anything can ever be.

Yes, legal. But unfair in Average Joe’s mind.

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:42 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:47 pm

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 3:44 pm Trump does legal tax evasion. Still anathema.

Shouldn't be. If it's legal, it's legal.

There's no law written secretly in the universe that says we owe taxes at all, in fact. The only laws that say so are human laws, conventions of a particular society -- and if that particular society decides X is a tax break, then it's a legit tax break...as legit as anything can ever be.

Yes, legal. But unfair in Average Joe’s mind.

henry quirk wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 7:21 pm

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:42 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:47 pm
Shouldn't be. If it's legal, it's legal.

There's no law written secretly in the universe that says we owe taxes at all, in fact. The only laws that say so are human laws, conventions of a particular society -- and if that particular society decides X is a tax break, then it's a legit tax break...as legit as anything can ever be.

Yes, legal. But unfair in Average Joe’s mind.

only when presented as such

tell me, with your taxes, do you take advantage of deductions, exemptions, etc.?

if you do, then you're no better than ORANGE MAN or the house plant he's gonna beat in november

if you don't, well, then -- and I say this with affection -- you're a sucker

as Mannie points out: tax avoidance is not a moral issue, merely a legal one...the whole point of tax accountancy is to preserve as much of a client's wealth as possible, to keep as much of the client's money out of gov coffers

as an october surprise: ORANGE MAN's taxes are a non-starter...the gist of the NYT slam is this: ORANGE MAN took advantage of existing tax law to minimize or negate his tax burden, just like everyone else

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 8:24 pm

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:42 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:47 pm
Shouldn't be. If it's legal, it's legal.

There's no law written secretly in the universe that says we owe taxes at all, in fact. The only laws that say so are human laws, conventions of a particular society -- and if that particular society decides X is a tax break, then it's a legit tax break...as legit as anything can ever be.

Yes, legal. But unfair in Average Joe’s mind.

Then Average Joe is being silly. He needs to grow up.

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 8:34 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 8:24 pm

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:42 pm Yes, legal. But unfair in Average Joe’s mind.

Then Average Joe is being silly. He needs to grow up.

Yes. AJ graduated from high school with average grades (ax’s) and needs to stop being silly but probably won’t.

I agree with what you’ve said. AJ is just not able to see it that way.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 9:22 pm

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 8:34 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 8:24 pm
Then Average Joe is being silly. He needs to grow up.

Yes. AJ graduated from high school with average grades (ax’s) and needs to stop being silly but probably won’t.

I agree with what you’ve said. AJ is just not able to see it that way.

Well, in my experience, AJ takes every tax break he knows about, and wishes he had more. Sometimes he wishes OTHERS would pay more taxes, but he never ever wishes HE did. So he's really not very well positioned to criticize anybody, whatever he thinks.

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 9:39 pm Again I agree with you. Maybe it’s AJ’s emotion rather than his limited critical thinking skills that lead him to believe that others unfairly cheat against him on their taxes.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 10:31 pm

commonsense wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 9:39 pm Again I agree with you. Maybe it’s AJ’s emotion rather than his limited critical thinking skills that lead him to believe that others unfairly cheat against him on their taxes.

I don't think most AJ's really think about it much at all. Rather, they tend to feel about it, then talk like what they feel is reality.