ÖKAD RISK FÖR GEMENSAM BOLAGSSKATT I EU

Det är viktigare att bolagsskatter är låga och förutsägbara än att de är samordnade, skriver SvD den 18 augusti, apropå förslaget från Merkel/Zarkozy att samordna bolagsbeskattningen inom EU.

Om förslaget med samordnad bolagsbeskattning (CCCTB) blir verklighet har vi snart en hög gemensam bolagsskatt inom EU. Förslaget förutsätter visserligen att varje land får bestämma sin skattesats, men vi kan vara förvissade om att snart kommer direktiv om lägsta tillåtna skattesats.

Allra bäst är att avskaffa bolagsskatten helt.

VEM BETALAR BOLAGENS SKATTER?

Här en kommentar i Tax.com med anledning av den republikanske presidentkandidaten Mitt Romneys påstående att "corporations are people, my friend". En dum kommentar vid ett valmöte till ett ännu dummare förslag från en häcklare.

But, the notion that corporations are not people when it comes to taxes is just plain wrong. It stems from the belief that business entities pay taxes and those taxes (somehow) are not borne by "people". As the Romney flap illustrates, it is the political left that adheres to this view. Yet, we know that business entities don't pay taxes, people do. Every corporate tax dollar is paid by someone. Now there is much debate about which people pay corporate taxes. Some think it is shareholders through lower returns. Some think it is workers through lower wages. Some think it is consumers through higher prices. Others think it is some combination. And note that the "working man and woman" may be shareholder, worker, and customer. In the end, we should not fool ourselves into thinking that corporate taxes represent free money. Some living, breathing human being is paying them.

Ja, varför skulle bolagen själva bekosta sina skatter? De betalar dem, men de bekostar dem inte; lika lite som de bekostar sina andra kostnader.

DET BLIR INGET FEMTE JOBBSKATTEAVDRAG

Det blir inget femte jobbskatteavdrag. Världshändelserna gör det möjligt för regeringen att slippa en politisk kris. Däremot lär det bli sänkt restaurangmoms, eftersom miljöpartiet vill ha det.

I SvD den 17 augusti drömmer P J Anders Linder om alternativ.

Förhoppningsvis kan Fredrik Reinfeldt presentera sådana i sitt sommartal på lördag, och förhoppningsvis handlar de om insatser för ökad konkurrenskraft och produktivitet och inte bara om ökade anslag till stat och kommun. Sådana må vara lättsålda hos oppositionen, men de ger inte fler jobb i den privata sektorn.

Ett lämpligt tillfälle för att föreslå sänkt bolagsskatt!!! En perfekt stimulans för näringslivet och sysselsättningen utan att enskilda individer eller inkomsttagare i olika branscher eller inkomstnivåer favoriseras eller missgynnas.

DN

NÅGRA ORD FRÅN WARREN E. BUFFETT

Här är en bön från Warren E. Buffett om högre skatter på kapital och höga inkomster hämtad ur The New York Times den 14 augusti.

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot.

To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.

I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.

Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.

The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)

I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.

Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.

Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.

But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.

Warren E. Buffett is the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway.

ANNA-KARIN HATT OCH FÖRETAGSBESKATTNING

Anna-Karin Hatt, en kandidat till posten som ledare för Centerpartiet, uttalar sig i SvD den 14 augusti om skatterna. Hon är tveksam till ett femte jobbskatteavdrag.

Min känsla är att det finns många i Centerpartiet som skulle önska att vi kunde prioritera tydliga skattesänkningar för de mindre företagen framför ett femte jobbskatteavdrag.

Även Peter Wolodarski tycker i DN den 14 augusti att de borgerliga med gott samvete kan avstå från ett femte, utan att för den skull ge upp ambitionen att låta människor behålla en större del av sin inkomst.

Säkert. Det verkar onekligen lite fantasilöst med ytterligare ett jobbskatteavdrag. Dessutom förefaller det som det inte finns parlamentariskt underlag. Men vem motsätter sig sänkt skatt för företagen? Och varför bara de små företagen?

Avskaffa bolagsskatten, den farligaste skatten enligt Anders Borg. Eller sänk skattesatsen rejält. Vilken stimulans för näringslivet just nu när det är som mest angeläget!

DUBBELBESTRAFFNING

Paulina Neuding, chefredaktör för Magasinet Neo, kommenterar i SvD den 13 augusti en dom i Högsta Domstolen den 31 mars 2010, i en fråga om dubbelbestraffning, när både fängelse och skattetillägg utdömts.
Jag har kommenterat domen och angränsade frågor ett flertal gånger.

Särskilt spännande är det att underinstanserna i vissa fall obstruerat mot HDs resonemang.

Man kan hoppas att Neudings artikel är en väckarklocka.

BASTION OF FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Här ett citat från TAX.com 9 aug:

Ouch -- America's credit rating has been down graded. Not only are the Germans better than us at soccer, but now they have a stronger credit rating too. Ditto for France, Luxembourg and Sweden -- those bastions of fiscal responsibility.

Sträck på dig, Anders Borg.