Joe the Plumber

Nightshade · Post by **Nightshade** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:46 am

...don't elect us out of existence. Small business is our life blood.

snoopy · Post by **snoopy** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 5:11 am

So, who's going to ruin small businesses, and who's going to help them? I think I've heard both sides saying they will help and the others will hurt.

Spidey · Post by **Spidey** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:43 am

Snoopy…you live near/in Philadelphia, do you think the environment for small business is good here? The business privilege (heh privilege

) tax here is so high most small retail stores have to hide most of their cash income just to survive. And I could go on & on… But I would like to hear from you.

snoopy · Post by **snoopy** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:58 am

I'm not really versed in the business tax laws around here. I do know that the wage tax is a bunch of crap. I live & work in the suburbs, so I manage to avoid it.

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 10:00 am

They tax you for the \"privilege\" of having a business?!?

woodchip · Post by **woodchip** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 10:22 am

Retail is taxed on the inventory they have on hand at certain times of the year. They are also taxed on the goods sold. Then they are taxed on the profit they have. Then you have taxes on the building, land and equipment. So depending on where your retail business is, those taxes could be stifling.

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 11:52 am

woodchip wrote:Retail is taxed on the inventory they have on hand at certain times of the year. They are also taxed on the goods sold. Then they are taxed on the profit they have. Then you have taxes on the building, land and equipment. So depending on where your retail business is, those taxes could be stifling.

Yea I pay all those taxes every year on my business to the state and the federal government as well as all the local municipalities;county,cities, townships etc. etc. but are you telling me that people in Philly are also paying a tax specifically for the "privilege" of owning a business? An additional tax on top of the usual tax? Or is the term "privilege tax" just a euphemism for the taxes all businesses pay in every state/county?

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:01 pm

And back on topic about the plumber named Joe...
I think it is awfully damn sad that the media is bending over backwards to look at every angle they can to discredit Joe instead of looking at the implications of Joe's question that caused Obama to admit his plan is to use the income tax code to redistribute the wealth based on Obama's determination of how much income is excessive.

I think you Obama supporters should have to think about that one!

Makes me wonder how many reporters have been assigned to find out details about Joe compared to how many have been assigned to find out the details of Obamas proposed tax policy....go count the stories that follow the emergence of each.

woodchip · Post by **woodchip** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:26 pm

I think the implication is crystal clear. Anything that makes Obama look bad is going to be excessively reported on in a negative manner by the liberal loving press. I'm surprised cartoons are not out yet showing Joe in a klan robe with Obama strung up behind him.

Gooberman · Post by **Gooberman** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:56 pm

I think Obama has helped Joe the Plumber's business beyond his wildest dreams!

I can already see \"Joe the Plumber\" vans all over Ohio...

[Edit] There are already petitions for him to run for congress!
Joe

Gandalf Stormcrow · Post by **Gandalf Stormcrow** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:09 pm

I read an article about Joe the Plumber in the NY Times this morning. It didn't reflect too well on him... apparently he doesn't even have a plumber's license even though he has been doing plumbing work for the past 2 years.

Jeff250 · Post by **Jeff250** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:16 pm

I haven't watched TV since the debate, but the story wreaked of bogusness even when McCain was presenting it during the debate. McCain accuses Joe the Plumber of being \"rich\" under Obama's tax policy, but how the hell does a plumber earn a quarter million a year? If McCain is fighting against the tax policy that hurts all of the millionaire plumbers out there, then he is surely tilting at windmills.

I'd be interested if anyone here can tell the story of Joe the Plumber in a way that would be more sympathetic to McCain's position and explain why Obama's tax policy would hurt him. But it doesn't take a liberal media conspiracy to understand why the media is having a field day with this.

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:55 pm

Gandalf Stormcrow wrote:I read an article about Joe the Plumber in the NY Times this morning. It didn't reflect too well on him... apparently he doesn't even have a plumber's license even though he has been doing plumbing work for the past 2 years.

It's a total red herring. I didn't have a mechanical contractors license when I went to buy the Air Conditioning business from the guy I worked for either...it doesn't mean that I, or Joe, were doing anything wrong since we both are covered under our bosses license! I got my license while I was working for him and decided to start from scratch, not buying his business...Joe can do the same or buy his boss out...

What you should take away from it isn't whether or not Joe is really Bob or what his status is with the local licensing board.
You should be concerned with Obama's answer when a plumber asked him about his tax plan and when the guy questioned him too hard, to end the conversation, Obama told him the real bottom line to the Obama plan...that Obama has decided that spreading the wealth is the right thing to do!

Remember Obama went walking around the neighborhood and knocked on Joe's door, Joe didn't walk up to Obama.
It was a real question from a real guy and the answer was Obama's real answer. If the only thing Obama wants you to focus on regarding the exchange is Joe's status with the licensing board instead of the answer then you should be thinking about why he thinks his own answer is a problem!!

I'm personally offended at Obama's recent retort when he scoffed at the idea of a plumber earning $250,000 per year!! Like guys like us who actually fix things and don't get paid until the job is a success shouldn't be earning money up in his salary range!!! F him and his paid-to-lie BS job!!!

Spidey · Post by **Spidey** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 2:37 pm

The Business Privilege tax is also known as The Gross Recipts Tax.

Damn, I was hoping Snoopy was going to challenge my notion that the business environment here is terrible, so I could give my rhetoric…

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 4:02 pm

Spidey wrote:The Business Privilege tax is also known as The Gross Recipts Tax....

Is it in addition to an income tax?
For example I pay based on my gross receipts to three cities and two counties but it's a fee to get the business license from each of them. Is that what it is or is it an additional tax plus you pay to get a business license?

Spidey · Post by **Spidey** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 5:12 pm

To do business in Philly, you must pay a percentage based on your gross income, regardless of whether or not you make a profit, then your profits are taxed as well. (after expenditures) I would have to ask my accountant if you can claim the GRT there.

Licenses are a different tax or cost, paid once a year depending on the type of business. (flat cost I believe, but can‘t be sure, mine is)

So yea, you can owe a tax debt even if you lost money that year. Small retail outlets are hurt the most, because they need to move huge amounts of money thru the business to make any profit, and since you can’t adjust the amount you pay with deductions, it can really hurt.

Think about it this way, if you make 5 cents on every dollar you take in, but have to pay like 4.4 cents to the city, there is not much left. (that’s why the retailers like to sell cigarettes and the high markup stuff like that, and are forced to hide a lot of their income)

Joe the Plumber

Joe the Plumber

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