this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2024
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[–] davel@lemmy.ml 51 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I don’t hate the IRS. They don’t write the tax code, and it’s not their fault that they’re underfunded. That’s all on Congress.

This might upset a few people, though: Your Taxes Pay for Nothing

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 13 points 1 month ago

Sort of... but saying that the government can issue as much new currency as they want is disingenuous and this is addressed later in the video, but it literally says that the tax money is "destroyed"... this is not really correct.

The value of a government currency like the dollar comes ultimately from confidence in the US economy. If the economy produces value, then the dollar represents a piece of that value. If the economy is unproductive (less value is produced) then tax revenue is lower, and less new money can be issued.

So to close the circle, your taxes do pay for something... the government's capacity to issue new money, which it then uses to pay for government services &etc. Saying that "your taxes pay for nothing" is kind of a pointless argument over semantics, because without the tax collection the government would not be able to pay for anything.

[–] macattack@lemmy.world 46 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Just want to reiterate that the IRS get their marching orders from the party in charge which is why they targeted rich people under Biden: The IRS has recovered $1.3 billion from rich American tax dodgers since the fall of 2023 — relieving a painful burden from ‘ordinary citizens’

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

FWIW the US federal budget for 2024 is going to be about $6.8 trillion dollars. So that $1.3 billion is about 0.019% of the total budget. I'd call that a slap on the wrist for the billionaire class except that you can actually feel a slap on the wrist.

[–] spidermanchild@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's entirely the wrong denominator for this comparison. IRS doesn't write the budget nor do they write tax law, they just collect.

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Fine, revenues are $4.9 trillion. My point is that $1.9 billion is literally a drop in the bucket - hardly an example of the IRS "going after rich people".

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

But ... It's an increase, right?

Are we okay with incremental improvements, or will only big bang headline news story type improvements be okay?

Is it an increase? The article @macattack cited does not give any data on how much the IRS collected from high-income earners before this additional push supposedly funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The article does mention that Republicans in congress recently rescinded more than $20 billion in additional IRS funding, which does suggest that the net benefit was far less than $1.3 billion and might even have been negative. It seems like the kind of breathless article the impact of which relies on people not well understanding the difference between a billion and a trillion.

[–] blanketswithsmallpox@lemmy.world 36 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Who the fuck is the rich chef lmfao?

Every chef I know looks like the dude on the left, but he hasn't had adderall since work insurance pays shit so instead he subsists on alcohol and cocaine with the rush of order and chaos working the kitchen.

[–] BudgetBandit@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I think it’s Chef Boyardee

Respect to the Spaghettios.

[–] badcodecat@lemux.minnix.dev 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

He's not even 1/4 of the way to being a billionaire. He may as well be scraping shit off the street then trying to pass it off as one of his lavacakes.

https://parade.com/celebrities/gordon-ramsay-net-worth

[–] Annoyed_Crabby@monyet.cc 18 points 1 month ago

Site supervisor waiting for both of them to deliver that wheelbarrow full of bricks:

[–] danc4498@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The “rich parents” blocks are off screen.

[–] desktop_user@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago

everyone needs a little push to help them get over the basics

[–] EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 1 month ago

not just tax evasion, there's the factor of wage theft and keeping over 99% of the profit to yourself too

[–] slacktoid@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Then you need to fund the IRS enough to go after these rich fucks

[–] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thats the thing though, those rich fucks usually run the IRS or practically own the people who do

[–] slacktoid@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago

I mean when your rich what don't you run.. To destroy from within

[–] hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 month ago

Conclusion: succes comes from defying the laws of physics.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Right panel could do better.

Tax evasion, loopholes, offshore accounts, tax breaks, are all terms that belong as “steps.” Also, stepping on the person holding the “work” steps up should be part of it. Successful people almost all earn money on other’s work at some level. That’s how wealth and employment work.

[–] toastal@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Other countries hate the IRS & FCC too. It is quite difficult to open a foreign bank or crypto exchange account… if not just outright blocked all Americans from even trying.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Ah yes, the evil government system that gets in the way of good people trying to run digital Ponzi schemes and collect ransomware payments.

Bad gubmint.

[–] toastal@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Baby. Bathwater.

Not all of the cryptocurrency behave as a Ponzi scheme even if many do. It also happens to be the most convenient way to transfer money between myself & the foreign friends I have—especially with Monero & Zcash hiding the transaction like cash would. I mostly use cash daily but if I have to do it digitally, I would rather it not be logged thru the government, some US-based tech firm, & all their third-party advertizing affiliates as is the case with credit cards and other mobile apps.

[–] haerrii 1 points 1 month ago

Ahn Papa Louie, that brings back memories

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

oddly enough,long as i keep myself out of jail and not homeless i am successful. this requires work. it is on you to decide to keep at it or not. just saying that your blanket doesnt keep me warm

[–] M600@lemmy.world -1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It kinda feels like this sometimes.

My single biggest expense each month is tax.

Last time I went to Costco, my the second most expensive thing on the receipt was tax.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Last time I went to Costco, my the second most expensive thing on the receipt was tax.

That just means you bought a whole bunch of cheap things.

[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml -5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

If other peoples' tax evasion is your big concern then you hate the wrong people.

[–] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Are we?

GE made nearly 7 billion dollars in 2023. Do you know how much tax they paid? They didn't, they got a refund of over 400 million dollars.

Tell me again that tax evasion isn't a real problem.

[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

i didn't say tax evasion isn't the real problem. i said that the meme is blaming the wrong people.

it's GE's (And politicians) fault that GE is evading taxes, not the IRS.

[–] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

Ah, so it's the IRS that was the wrong target. I see.

[–] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago

Idk how thats what you got from this post. I don't believe billionaires paying their taxes will solve all of our problems of thats what you are getting at