An interesting thought experiment what would happen if we treated people as corporations. I guess we'd have to raise income taxes quite a bit to make ends meet, as most people spend everything they make.
> what would happen if we treated people as corporations
You'd rename line items and move on. Companies can't deduct any expense. The chief ones are things they've already paid tax on, e.g. wages subject to payroll and purchases subject to sales taxes.
It may not be that simple, and there are definitely exemptions to what the OP posted. But the principle of it is what most of corporate taxation is built upon, and it's fundamentally different to how taxation works for individuals. Is it logically consistent and/or fair? Doubtful, but it is the way it is, and until we get a law change to happen (in any country - doubtful the world over), it'll stay that way.
> the principle of it is what most of corporate taxation is built upon, and it's fundamentally different to how taxation works for individuals
They're built on a similar principle: you tax earnings. That's why we have a standard deduction. The point was to cover living expenses.
It's clearly not doing that, but the logic is similar. (I'd raise it to $50k+. Cover the cost, about $500 to 600bn, with new tax brackets at $10mm, $100mm and $1bn; a modest increase in the capital-gains rate; and by closing the carried-interest loophole.)
You've said something true that misses the point.
Taxation disproportionately comes from wages, and most in the middle class can't avoid them, even though they are a pillar of the economy.
> Taxation disproportionately comes from wages, and most in the middle class can't avoid them
Totally correct. Ironically, a classic labour vs. capital argument holds water better than people vs. corporations. We absolutely tax returns on labour too much in America and capital not enough. That doesn't really result in concluding that we should let people deduct more expenses or corporations pay on their top line. You're still working at the level of abstractions.
Well, in this case I think the subject also is corporations v. people, as people can't lobby to Congress to get tax breaks. In this particular issue, the problem is both that corporations aren't taxed enough AND that they can evade the law by getting special dispensations.
I'd be upset the most at:
> Congress might give Tesla even more tax breaks. A bill passed by the House of Representatives in the previous Congress would have retroactively reinstated a provision allowing full expensing of research and development expenses which could save the company up to $2.4 billion in taxes.
> people can't lobby to Congress to get tax breaks
You've never called your elected? I've literally worked on the language of bills because I was the only one to call in about a bill that had to be voted on, nobody in my jurisdiction cared about and the staffer who was chargdd with it couldn't give fewer shits about the issue.
Only the population pays taxes before their costs.