The primary means by which governments raise revenue. Taxes can be levied on almost any aspect of economic activity.
Questions tagged [taxes]
65 questions
25
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Do tax cuts stimulate an economy?
Every election cycle, I keep hearing that tax breaks stimulate the economy.
Are there any well-known studies or scientifically-backed examples from history that shed light on whether or not this claim is true or false?
plaureano
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Do US companies pay significantly less taxes than European ones (based on tax rates)?
I have frequently heard claims that US companies pay significantly less taxes than European ones (based on tax rates). The last time I saw this claim (and what caused me to ask this question) was Lagerbaer's comment on "Do rich companies really pay…
Alice
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Does the UK government have only 300 staff investigating tax evasion of £70bn+ vs 3250 staff investigating benefits (welfare) fraud of £1.2bn?
The following graphic is doing the rounds on Facebook:
Is it true?
Does the graphic give an accurate representation of the comparative headcount/effort/resources that the UK government (as a whole) puts into investigating these two things?
To what…
A E
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20
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Will the Republican tax plan cost Donald Trump "a fortune"?
In this video (Donald Trump in St. Charles, MO - Youtube), Donald Trump says the Republican tax plan is going to "cost him a fortune, believe me" (1:30).
This is going to cost me a fortune, this thing. Believe me. Believe. This is not good for me.…
Coomie
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20
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Is the US tax code only 2,600 pages long?
Andrew L. Grossman wrote in the Slate article Is the Tax Code Really 70,000 Pages Long?
:
American Public Media’s Marketplace Morning Report has reported that the tax code is 70,000 pages long.* The New York Times thinks so too. A Google search…
Christian
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4 answers
Has anyone noteworthy given up their US citizenship to escape taxation?
I've heard it said that a US citizen can escape paying US income taxes by giving up their citizenship and living in a foreign country (presumably, somewhere that has lower taxes or perhaps where a deal has been made).
Is this true? If it is true,…
Paul
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20
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Was the 16th Amendment (income tax) improperly ratified?
Bill Benson released The Law that Never Was in 1985, which "claims that the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, commonly known as the income tax amendment, was never properly ratified."1 At least several have gone to jail for…
Wolf
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18
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Has income tax been found unconstitutional by a court?
Someone told me that there are people who claim that the income tax, and by extension the IRS, is unconstitutional, and that some have won in court using this argument. Is this true?
An example of a prominent claim is the book The Great Income Tax…
ike
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16
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Is the GOP tax plan the 'largest tax cut in history'?
The GOP recently released their final tax plan this week, after going to a conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill.
US President Donald Trump has frequently claimed that the tax reform is the "largest-ever tax…
Panda
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Does the USA have the highest taxes?
I was listening to the Trump rally tonight in Ohio and Trump said:
My administration is working every single day to heed and honor the will of the voters. That includes working on one of the biggest tax cuts in American history and actually if I…
Coomie
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15
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3 answers
If you raise taxes, will the rich leave the country?
I often see/hear this argument used as an argument against raising income tax, at least here in the UK. The argument being the rich will leave, taking their cash out of the country, resulting in damage to the economy.
I am always slightly sceptical…
Groky
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14
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Do the Republican tax cuts cost more than forgiving student debt?
In today's US political climate, a big talking point for some of the Democratic Party candidates is the forgiveness of student loans. Whenever I hear this discussed among my peers, the consensus is that it can't happen because there would be no way…
roger21
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13
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Did Elon Musk pay "the most [income] taxes ever in history for an individual last year"?
After Senator Warren went on TV and said Elon Musk paid $0 in taxes in 2018, he responded in a Tweet dated 20 Feb 2022 saying (emphasis added):
Will visit IRS next time I’m in DC just to say hi, since I paid the most taxes ever in history for an…
LShaver
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Does an American taxpayer fund $870 in corporate subsidies for every $36 in food stamps?
I recently saw this Occupy Democrats claim on Facebook:
Now, obviously a lot of those categories are vague and open to interpretation (I've known people who would argue most of the U.S. defense budget is "corporate subsidies"), but are any of…
T.J. Crowder
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Does the Netherlands allow letterbox companies to exist as long as they have a houseplant in their empty office?
The following article came to my attention:
OneWorld - Kunstenares Tinkebell toert langs kamerplanten van belastingontwijkers (Dutch).
It describes how an artist will be doing tours of companies that have a letterbox office in The Netherlands. The…
Saaru Lindestøkke
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