BO changing his tune again?

Yeah, pretty much... I save room in my brain for things I like, or might use in the future. Land-use taxes is neither.

I'd have to add though, after giving RLM's example a bit more thought... if that farmer is making so little money on so valuable a land, he SHOULD lose it... 'cause he's doing a horrible job as a farmer lol

Let a REAL farmer own it and show the guy how a REAL farm should work...

 

The discussion was who were millionaires, not what the current tax structure is. BTW, I am curious just how much real estate tax he is paying on his land. Yes, I know it is not income tax and BO has little say in the matter, but it is still tax.

Just in case you missed it, that scenario has actually occurred more than once. I is not at all uncommon for farmers to go TU.

 

Or he was doing a fine job on cheap land and the city moved in. I have no idea how extensive your knowledge of farming is, but most family farms do not earn more than the figures I presented.

 

Not very extensive at all... but your example just didn't pass the smell test... mostly because of the land value you gave. I could see the farmers earnings being that little, but not on $2 million worth of land... it's not profitable enough for the land-value. I also took his profit to mean after expenses, which should include any land-use.

The era of the small farmer has passed, though there are still quite a few who farm their 40 acres (or whatever) and eke out an existance. These farm lands are no-where near the $2 million value though, closer to $50 to 100K.

 

Please don't tell my relatives that. They might expect to actually make money. And their farms are not near 40 acres (get real), but they don't live near a city where their land value approaches the figures I used. I have no idea just what life you have led not to have ever flown nor apparently ever been on a farm. BTW, the last time I saw my uncle, he was actually using a horse team to pull his plow at age 70+. Oh, that was in the mid 80's. He was down to a couple hundred acres and farmed just to supplement his income because his 2000 acre farm was not worth $2,000,000.

 

That whole scenario before or after the farm subsidies?

 

That isnt an example. I said those who earn not have millions.

 

You dont think there are some wealthy Americans who dont pay a dime? Really? You would really rather see those who earn $9000 a year pay taxes than others who earn five, six, seven or more million dollars a year pay a bit more? And I think Cage and others lose what they have not from paying taxes but from living extravagant lifestyles. Earning 15, 20, 25 million dollars a picture and then having to file for bankruptcy, is the fault of the person and only theirs. Actually, I'm talking about those who pay Cage and Jeter and the like those kind of salaries being the ones who should pay a bit more. And Lets cut out the perks of those elected to the U.S. govt. Small but a gesture towards responsible government.

 

And most are satified with it. Not everyone wants more, more, MORE! And if a city is moving in on a farmers land, its because he is selling parcels of it. They just dont just pop up.

 

Thats a personal experience. We all have them. These chats should be more objective. Not taking anything away from your relatives or insulting them or whatever. But you cant pull up one example and have it represent the whole. Life sucks sometimes. But most times its candy.

 

I think it comes down to taxable income versus net worth. The farmer had 50 to 100k taxable income (or income after taxes) and a $2 million land value. Tecnically he may be a millionaire (net worth), but he'll only be taxed at that level if he sells the farm and gets that $2 million in cash. But there are tons of tax exclusions for farmers... low to no-interest loans, grants, subsidies, etc.

Now if the farmer had a yearly income of $2 million... that's somewhat different... earning $2 million a year versus owning $2 million in land.

 

Yes. That is clearly what I mentioned

 

Corporate failures, no doubt. Losers.

 

I don't think we should tax wealth. That should have already been taxed as income at some point. Income made off of that wealth should be taxable. As should new income. Can someone point to a tax that Obama is proposing on wealth?