I think taxes should be based on a 5-year rolling average, to ease the burden for people who have high income only once in their life. Winning the lottery or patenting an invention that makes you rich is the American dream. Let’s tax high earners but show some lenience for folks who have a once in a lifetime windfall.

  • CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.worldEnglish
    13·
    10 days ago

    Lottery winnings in Canada are tax free. Only the earnings from investing it is taxed according to standard laws. It makes a lot of sense because the lottery itself is a form of taxation. The government already got their cut from the tickets purchased by everyone.

    In the US you pay the players tax, then you get taxed on the winnings, then you get taxed on income earned from investments.

    Meanwhile American billionaires pay next to nothing. What an uncivilized country.

  • paultimate14@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    9 days ago

    Winning the lottery? Honestly we should be trying to find ways to DISCOURAGE people from playing if anything.

    An invention that makes you rich? If it is a physical good you will probably not see significant net income for a couple year anyways as you need to establish the supply chain, the distribution chain, the marketing, etc. For intellectual property you could maybe make an argument.

    Inheritance? Heck no, it shod.be taxed more heavily. That encourages wealthy people to start giving their wealth to their children BEFORE they die, spreading it out over years. Which means they can spend it a bit sooner.

  • HexesofVexes@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    9 days ago

    Definitely unpopular. The trouble is, why not just leave the country the year of the windfall?

    By the time the heavier tax is due, you’re nowhere to be found.

  • RBWells@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    7 days ago

    I agree this is, and should be, an unpopular opinion.

    If I get some money for doing nothing, a windfall, then getting half of it is still me getting free money.

    If I work for ten years to get the same amount, shouldn’t I pay less in taxes? I spent my time and effort making that money.

    Usually anyone who gets rich quick either ripped people off, inherited or won money and I would tax anything unearned at a higher rate than earned.

    • workerONE@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      7 days ago

      You’re comparing something different to what I am saying. In my scenario there is a guy who earns $1 million every year for 40 years and there is a guy who earns like $30,000 every year but in one year earns $1 million.

      I’m not sure why you are comparing yourself to the guy who makes $1 mil every year, or why you think I’m saying that if you make $100,000 for ten years you should pay more taxes than if you make $1 million in one year. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m not advocating for all of us to carry the tax burden for someone who wins Powerball and takes home $50 mil.

      Edit: if you support a wealth tax then you support the same thing I advocate for. With a wealth tax if you earn an extreme amount over your lifetime you pay more. With my opinion, it’s the same thing, but if you earn a moderate amount over your lifetime, you should pay less (even if most of your earnings occurred in one year)