Bernie Sanders on Taxes

So Bernie Sanders fully admits that everyone's taxes will go up.  But how will they go up.  Sander's website breaks down what taxes will pay for what.  For infrastructure, Sanders intends to tax the money that businesses hold in offshore accounts.  This would require the IRS to figure out how much money is held in offshore tax havens and then tax the companies saying that they owe this much money. He will also end loopholes in the tax code as well to help pay for his plan to rebuild America's infrastructure.

To get free community college, he will implement a tax on Wall Street Speculators which will amount to $300 billion according to his web site.  I am personally skeptical on how a base $300 billion per year can accomplish this as Speculators don't all exist in the United States and they have enough money to leave and renounce their citizenship. 

Here is one I do agree with wholeheartedly, to get more money into Social Security and Medicare, Sanders wants the cap taken off of taxable income.  What people don't know, only a certain amount of money can be placed into Social Security and Medicare per person per year thanks to a cap on the tax which allows the richest of us to pay off the tax and then not be taxed the rest of the year.  By eliminating this tax cap, much more money can be collected to help extend the life of Social Security and Medicare.  

Sander's wants to create a young jobs program which will help disadvantaged kids get jobs.  To pay for this estimated $5.5 Billion program, Sanders will eliminate the carried interest loophole which allows for a tax break on people of higher incomes. 

For his paid family and medical leave plan, he intend to implement an additional $1.61 per week per person from the payroll tax (the same tax that funds Social Security and Medicare) to pay for it.  So this is the main area where everyone's taxes will increase as apparently there are instances where people pay more for the payroll tax than any other tax (hence why Republicans want to find a way to alter the way we contribute to Social Security and Medicare). 

Bernie wants to protect pensions of about 1.5 million Americans (there are $300 million of us in total) by closing two loopholes on people receiving money they inherit and on art work. Unfortunately this will affect people who own small businesses the most as it makes the Death tax (estate tax) worse as small businesses can be worth a million dollars plus and thus to pay the tax a family member may be forced to sell that business just to pay the tax.

To pay for renewable energy, Sanders will end all oil, coal, and gas subsidies (giveaways).  Which means he is transferring these "giveaways" to the renewable energy group.  So if you’re against government spending/corporate welfare you will probably have a problem with this as it is simply shifting money from one group to another.

Finally, Sanders health plan will be paid for by a 6.2% tax on a business's income and then an additional 2.2% tax on us the American people.  So our taxes will go up a lot.  Also, the progressive income tax we have already, will now include capital gains and dividends together as income (basically money made from investments), which means we again will be paying a lot more on things like stocks, and maybe even our 401ks depending on how Sanders establishes his tax plan.  He also says via his website that eliminating tax deductions for the rich, adjusting the estate tax and our ability to deduct health expenditures will also be subject to change all to help pay for his health plan.

Final Thought:  So, his plan increases taxes for everyone by at least 2.2% of our income minimum.  But if you have savings, or investments which many middle class people now have, you can be paying significantly more.  While his ideas are nice, it is in this writer's opinion that what Senator Sanders wants to accomplish and the method by which he wants to do so will cause all the rich to leave the country, businesses to leave the country, and that taxes will continue to skyrocket till the country collapses financially.  I just see from here idealisms, but nothing here is financially feasible.