Cutting taxes does nothing for small businesses

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Wednesday October 17, 2012 · 8:34 AM PDT

2012/10/17 · 08:34

As always, the emphasis in this election is on cutting taxes to spur economic growth. "I want to help small businesses by cutting their income tax rate." Right. If that really did anything, then the government wouldn't do it.

As an employer of 15 people, the way government can help my small business and spur economic growth is to do away with the hidden "taxes" that most people never see and don't realize how it directly affects them. Pretty much every level of government sticks its hands into my cash flow, chipping away bit by bit until there's nothing left with which to grow my business. Getting rid of those things will do much more to help me out than lowering my tax rate.

Take unemployment for instance. Unemployment directly affects my cash flow. It's money that I'm required by law to pay and I have absolutely no say into how much or how little I pay. Sure, I can carefully manage my employees so that I keep my individual unemployment rate as low as possible, but the portion that impacts me the most is the shared cost. That is the cost that decimates me. We can argue all day long as to whether it's morally or legally permissible to force a company at gunpoint to pay people to not work. But what you can't argue is that eliminating unemployment would directly impact my bottom line. I have much better uses for that money. Money that goes to pay people to not work could be better used for advertising, new equipment for my employees, bonuses and other things that actually do something to help. If I could take the money I pay into unemployment each quarter and use it for advertising, I could possibly hire more people due to my increased business. Instead, we use that money to pay people to not work. Go figure.

Business licenses/fees. Again, money that does nothing but give local/state and federal governments more to waste. Why in the world should I have to pay a business license to begin with? Licenses do nothing but limit competition and increase costs to the consumer. I have much more productive uses for that money.

FICA. FICA is a big one. I have to pay half, my employee has to pay half. Remind me again why a business should have to pay your social security contribution? Oh that's right because it's not really your contribution, it's money being paid into a ponzi scheme, continually requiring more and more contributors to stay afloat. Why shouldn't you have to pay all of the FICA that you're required to pay? Because if people had to actually pay the entire amount out of their own checks, there would be a revolution like you wouldn't believe and no amount of government force could stop it.

Anytime I hear someone on tv talking about how we need to lower tax rates to spur economic growth, I tune them out immediately. Spend a couple of weeks in my business and I'll show you everything you need to know about helping out a small business and spurring economic growth. It's a lesson you won't learn in our failing education system and you certainly won't learn it from a useless politician who has actually never had to sweat making payroll.

What if I say no?

hankmed

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Wednesday October 17, 2012 · 7:08 AM PDT

2012/10/17 · 07:08

The consistent meme throughout this President's first, and hopefully last, term in office has been his assertion that he will "ask" the wealthy to pay more. He said it during last night's debate and he has said it throughout his campaign. No matter how it's phrased, "pay more", "pay their fair share", etc., the operative word has always been "ask".

In my 48 years, I don't recall ever being asked to pay taxes. Taxes are always taken from me. I have never once given money to the government voluntarily. The government always takes money from me, using force if necessary. Taxes are taken from my paycheck before I ever see the money. Taxes are taken from me when I purchase goods and, in some cases, services. Hidden taxes are taken from me in the form of inflation when the Federal Reserve prints money and passes the debt onto my yet to be born grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Indeed, it would be a novel concept for the government to actually ask my permission to take money from me (like that's ever going to happen).

I'm not wealthy by any stretch and, if the government has its way, I never will be. However, I can imagine how this conversation might go. Instead of living within its means, the government will ask me to pay more in taxes. I will, of course, politely decline the request. I pay more than enough as it is. I not only pay my "fair share" of taxes, but I pay the "fair share" of others who have squandered the opportunities they've been given. So, no thank you, Mr. President, I choose not to pay more in taxes.

Of course the President is only joking about asking me to pay more. There is no request or, at least, if there is a request, it's a request you can't refuse. But what happens if I do refuse? What happens if I decline your request Mr. President? Well, the short answer is that it really doesn't matter whether or not I acquiesce to his request. The government is going to take money from me, using whatever force is necessary, regardless of whether I want it to or not. So, don't peddle that bullshit around here, Mr. President, just speak the truth. You're not going to ask anyone to pay more, you're simply going to take it from them whether they like it or not.

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