Then how could it be unpatriotic?
He’s a master of saying one thing and doing another.
This thread belongs in the “Investments” forum.
When has a corporation not been entitled to free speech in the US?
Considering a company cannot speak, I’m not sure I follow.
Tim Hortons is the best. I would get it every morning if I could. They turned me into a coffee drinker.
^ really? I find their coffee is basically brown water. Their donuts, muffins and sandwiches are good though.
Oh sheesh. I did some background on the issue and the US has a wider view of speech than what I was thinking of from my little Canadian perspective. Seems like corporations are free to advance their views as they wish.
Their coffee is awful. Really awful. And their donuts used to be good, but then they switched to central baking facilities so now everything is thawed from frozen. Noticeable decline in quality.
I am truly a master-debater.
Maybe it was inexperience, but I really liked their coffee. I also liked the food. This was five years ago. I am scared to try it again now. I want to save the good memories.
Buffet’s argument was not that corporations should pay more tax, it was that he as a multi-billionaire should pay at least as much tax as his secretary (which he doesn’t, by a large margin). I don’t see him being a hypocrite at all. Lower corporate taxes, eventually, works its way to both consumers and shareholders alike. Having a very low capital gains tax, however, allows those who already have wealth to pay much lower taxes than those who are working for it.
As for the Canadian system, yes Harper can rule like a king despite having only a third of the country behind him. The fix is very simple though - preferential ballots. Of course, preferential ballots (as well as proportional representation) do not favour the party in power so it’s difficult to get passed. I’m hoping the liberals put it through as Trudeau has said he supports it.
I do appreciate that in Canada we are not nearly as militant about political affiliations. The vitriol that spews from both sides down south just makes me sad. Plus, if both parties agree on a certain policy, you’re stuck. Reminds me of that Simpsons episode… “Don’t blame me, I voted for Kodos” - Homer
Buffett pays vastly more tax than his secretary. In terms of a rate, it may be less on the surface but that’s half the facts. Investment income is at a lower rate because its subject first to an additional 35% tax at the corporate level (whereas the secretary’s salary is deductible for the corp). This is ignored by pretty much everyone that makes this argument, including Buffett himself.
Preferrential ballots are a terrible idea. You always elect a weak middle ground candidate with no real vision. Alberta has defacto chosen the last two premiers through this method and in both cases it elected a weaker candidate that had a disastrous run.
I thought this was a good article.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-25/burger-king-may-move-to-canada-for-the-donuts
That 35% is not the actual rate that corporations pay. The government only pulls about half that in due to loopholes and various deductions.
However, even if it was 80%, it wouldn’t matter. Those costs are passed on to the consumer. If corporate taxes everywhere in the world went up to 80%, in the long run Buffet wouldn’t be making less money. Every company would have to raise prices. However, when you lower capital gains tax, you are only benefiting investors. Investors don’t get to claim the pro-rated corporate taxes as their own personal tax burden, because that tax is a burden of consumers. That would be like saying the service industry should pay a lower corporate tax rate because they hire more employees per dollar of profit than the tech industry, and those employees are paying tax so they should get a lower corporate rate to compensate.
Also, Ralph Klein was elected with preferential ballots, who is the polar opposite of weak middle ground candidate. First past the post is a ridiculous and antiquated form of democracy that is followed by almost nobody. It’s also responsible for the gigantic over-representation of the BQ for every election in living memory other than the last one.
Then the issue is loopholes, not rates. Anyway, you’re right on Ralph. I still don’t like preferential ballots. Though that has nothing to do with BK/Tims. Speaking of, I’m about to go to the food court and get a Whopper and a apple fritter and see if anyone notices.
I can only assume they have a whopper with apple fritter bun in the works.
Ummmmmmm… No.
Price elasticity and operating leverage make this a much more complex relationship than you’re imagining.
Are you sure? How much tax does he pay? You realize that he has 0 investment gains?