Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
I'm saying just because the tax rate is 40%(or whatever), it's not like they are paying that. Anyone making that kind of money is going to use whatever methods they can to reduce below the 40%. Yes, it's all legal, but it also means throwing out that they pay 40% is not really accurate. And yes, it also applies to the person making 50k not actually paying what their tax bracket puts them at.
I have no idea what the rich actually pay, but I'd be pretty blown away if they actually pay out near the highest rate they could theoretically pay.
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They are - I have personally seen the tax filings that we prepare.
As I said before - in my mind the largest tax we are missing out on is the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next which is a massively lost opportunity. If we taxed the wealth transfer at a relatively high amount, this could allow for way more tax dollars. For example, if you are a high worth individual with an estate worth $400M in Alberta, and you leave that to your children, and have completed a high level of tax planning (estate freezing, step-ups, etc.) then upon death you are paying very little tax and the transfer to your beneficiaries are also nominal. Whereas if you transferred that $400M at 40%, $160M would go back in taxes.