Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, offered an interesting Op-Ed piece in the New York Times this week. Hastings joins the ranks of Ben Stein and Warren Buffet in calling for tax raises for… the ultra rich.
Hastings believes that those in the upper classes, like himself, can afford to pay more in taxes – and that to celebrate their contributions rather than shame their compensation – would be inspirational and helpful to all Americans. I’d say it’s a novel idea but it seems to be one attracting more and more popularity these days. Daschle aside, most wealthy Americans, it seems really want to pay their fair share.
Hasting suggests:
Want more taxgirl goodness? Pick your poison: You can receive posts by email, follow me on twitter (@taxgirl) hang out with me on Facebook and check out my YouTube channel.Perhaps a starting place for “tax, not shame” would be creating a top federal marginal tax rate of 50 percent on all income above $1 million per year. Some will tell you that would reduce the incentive to earn but I don’t see that as likely. Besides, half of a giant compensation package is still pretty huge, and most of our motivation is the sheer challenge of the job anyway.
