AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

@mysteryman,

Your constant stupidity does nothing for you.

I explained and explained and explained that I used a figure of speech. You just do not get it. I can not stand you and I never met you. Your lack of comprehension drives me bonkers.

Do you have any idea of the origin of the expression, "his name is mudd?" It has to do with the Doctor Mudd who set Booth's leg after he broke it escaping from Ford's Theatre after shooting Lincoln.

That is a figure of speech. I used a figure of speech.

YOU ARE ASKING FOR AN INTIMATE CONVERSATION BECAUSE THERE ARE THINGS I WOULD NEVER SAY TO A RIGHT WINGER BECAUSE RIGHT WINGERS ARE INCAPABLE OF USING FIGURES OF SPEECH AS YOU CONTINUALLY DEMONSTRATE.

What I really think of politics and religion are intimate to me. What I really think I never post here.

I guess you just would never take no for an answer.

You are irritating.

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@plainoldme,

still running almost 10% responses . Thats seems to be the norm of most long lived threads. This one is 9.73%.

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Hi. Just got home. Walmart, for the last 3 fiscal years, has paid and average of 34% of its income in U.S. state and federal income tax. Home Depot is at 35%.
GE is at 7%.

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@realjohnboy,

Didn't someone post here recently about how taxes are more apt to be paid by retailers?

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@realjohnboy,

realjohnboy wrote:

Hi. Just got home. Walmart, for the last 3 fiscal years, has paid and average of 34% of its income in U.S. state and federal income tax. Home Depot is at 35%.
GE is at 7%.

I think something must be missing in your claim, rjb. Is it 34% of gross income, net income, or taxable income. Also, is it only corporate income tax, or do your figures include income tax deducted from employee payroll, etc.?

I would also like to point out that the income tax that Walmart pays is also far different than the income tax paid by their suppliers or vendors. I am guessing, but vendors in China probably pay no income tax, and probably recieve assistance or subsidies from the Chinese government, which is in sharp contrast with American suppliers or manufacturers.

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@okie,

Gee, okie, is that difficult English for you? He said "34% of income."

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@cicerone imposter,

I've done enough of my own taxes to know there is a vast difference between gross income, net income, taxable income, etc. I merely asked for a clarification of terms.

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Hey, okie, if you are such a great person and such a loving husband, why do you spend so much time here, particularly on a Saturday night? Why aren't you with your wife or do things go better for the two of you if you are out of her way?

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@okie,

If you've done enough of your own tax returns, you should know how the rates apply to income. That you have to ask whether it's on gross income shows you are clueless. If you are still confused, it's your problem.

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@okie,

Good morning. Your questions, Okie, are not all that naive in my mind.
The 34% is U.S. federal and state income taxes and does not include taxes like payroll or real estate. I don't know if the 34% includes taxes paid on profits earned from operations in other countries.
Gross income is, I guess, the same as gross revenue or sales before expenses. Not relevant here.
Net Income vs Taxable Income gets rather interesting. Well, as interesting as accounting ever gets.
Suppose HD buys a truck to deliver refrigerators. $50K for a truck that will be in service for 5 years. On its books there will be a charge in determining Net Income of $10K a year (depreciation) for each of the 5 years.
But the government decides that it wants to encourage the purchase of trucks.
So it tells the IRS to allow HD to write off the entire $50K (accelerated depreciation) in the 1st year.
So Net Income is different from Taxable Income although in theory it should balance out over time. But if HD, as an expanding business, adds a new truck every year it will never even out.
Retailing is a pretty straight forward business which is why the tax rate for WMT (34%) is closer to the "sticker price" of corporate income tax.
Companies like GE and P&G are not only far flung multinationals but also have activities that create timing differences between Net Income and Taxable Income in far greater numbers then a simple HD truck. The treatment of Research and Development expenditures comes to mind.
Are you sorry you asked for clarification?

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@realjohnboy,

rjb, It may not seem naive in your mind, but he told us he does his own income tax returns, and had to ask whether that tax rate applied to gross income. As far as I'm concerned, he's clueless.

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I just want to add that it's totally impossible to compare one national tax system with the other. Tax laws may even differ within one country.

Though most countries seem to have 'income taxes', these vary broadly, define income differently ... (e.g. here in Germany, only 'natural persons' pay it).

So it's no use to know if companies in China or Germany pay the same income tax as they would in the USA ...

Do US-companies, okie, pay six week vacations, six weeks sick leave, etc etc?

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@Walter Hinteler,

Walter, That is true. Also, even in the US, workers and corporations have different tax application to income - earned in foreign countries. States also have different regulations concerning taxation; some allow credit paid to other states, and some states don't have an income tax.

Quote:

Seven states have no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

rjb, It may not seem naive in your mind, but he told us he does his own income tax returns, and had to ask whether that tax rate applied to gross income. As far as I'm concerned, he's clueless.

I think the more you talk, the more clueless you sound, ci. If you have ever done your own taxes, then you would know what I am talking about. For example, I don't know how corporate taxes work, but on a personal return, after Schedule C shows self employed profit or income, there are a number of deductions or credits that come off of that number before the tax rate is applied. I presume that similar happens with corporate tax returns. One of the biggees would be inventory. I think the value of inventory as it changed from the beginning of the year to the end of the taxable year, that would greatly affect net profit and taxable profit, as compared to gross profit.

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@Walter Hinteler,

Walter Hinteler wrote:

I just want to add that it's totally impossible to compare one national tax system with the other. Tax laws may even differ within one country.

Though most countries seem to have 'income taxes', these vary broadly, define income differently ... (e.g. here in Germany, only 'natural persons' pay it).

So it's no use to know if companies in China or Germany pay the same income tax as they would in the USA ...

Do US-companies, okie, pay six week vacations, six weeks sick leave, etc etc?

You have good points, but I do not agree that it is impossible to compare tax systems from country to country. Sure, it will not be an exact comparison, but they can be approximately compared. After all, we know that taxes are similar to an operational expense, and so they greatly affect the profitability of companies, depending upon where they are located.

Regarding paid leave and vacations, it varies from employer to employer, and it also commonly depends upon how many years you have with a company. In my geology career, I got two weeks after about 5 years, if I remember correctly, then 3 weeks after 10 years, and so on. I think 5 weeks paid vacation was about the maximum possible, after about 20 years with the company. They also had a number of paid holidays each year, plus time allowed for sick leave, etc.

One of the big reasons why I believe the U.S. should consider replacing the income tax with a retail sales tax is because I believe we need bold tax reform to combat the problem of our declining manufacturing sector in this country. Everything we buy is made somewhere else. A retail sales tax would place all products on an even playing field, regardless of where they are manufactured. The elimination of the income tax would also allow domestic manufacturers to pay higher wages for better employees and better productivity instead of paying that money in taxes to the government. The government would still get its tax revenue, but at a different point in the economic stream or cycle.

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@okie,

okie wrote:

After all, we know that taxes are similar to an operational expense, and so they greatly affect the profitability of companies, depending upon where they are located.

You should tell that our companies here!

(German products are generally cheaper in the USA than here .... due to lower taxes! [That's why e.g. the German car industry has plants there .... plus the lower wages.)

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@okie,

okie wrote:

Regarding paid leave and vacations, it varies from employer to employer, and it also commonly depends upon how many years you have with a company. In my geology career, I got two weeks after about 5 years, if I remember correctly, then 3 weeks after 10 years, and so on. I think 5 weeks paid vacation was about the maximum possible, after about 20 years with the company. They also had a number of paid holidays each year, plus time allowed for sick leave, etc.

See, that's another difference.

Here, in Germany and many other European countries, such is regulated in the various Labour Laws .... for the minimum (e.g. 24 days vacation in Germany, six weeks sick leave, etc).
The tariffs go above that (e.g. up to 30 days vacation in some industries).

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@Walter Hinteler,

I am interested, what is the situation in German retail outlets, Walter? Are many of the products made in China, as they are here?
And if you buy a computer and need technical advice, do you end up talking to a company representative located in India? that is often what happens here.

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@okie,

okie wrote:

I am interested, what is the situation in German retail outlets, Walter? Are many of the products made in China, as they are here?
And if you buy a computer and need technical advice, do you end up talking to a company representative located in India? that is often what happens here.

A lot of products are made in China - but many firms now go back and produce their stuff here again.

There aren't many German-speaking persons in India, I suppose. We do have, however, quite a few hotlines operating from Poland - quite a few people speak German there.

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@Walter Hinteler,

How about the economy there in general, Walter? Is your government running deficits, etc.? I could do a web search to answer some of my questions, but what better source than you living right there?

1 Reply

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

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