SB 29-25: Federal Budget FY 2022 (Passed)

[Senator Spark]

I'm surprised that the top income tax rate isn't higher. To reduce income inequality and enable us to support the rest of society, I hope we either increase that top rate or create a new higher bracket with a higher rate. In the future 30% may be a better corporate tax rate but perhaps we're better off doing that next year.

I agree here that we can implement a modest increase for the top income tax bracket but simultaneously cut the rate in another area to balance things out.

[Senator Spark]

Atlasia is very highly taxed when taking into account regional tax rates, so maybe we could look into cutting some of them, especially the 55% top income tax rate. I'll also see if I can shift some of the tax burden onto a value-added tax, but that isn't a huge priority for me. The wealth tax should be scrapped for sure. Having brackets for corporate taxes seems like poor policy since it could encourage companies to break up even if that results in a loss of efficiency. Making it a flat tax wouldn't harm any small businesses that are organized as sole proprietorships, which constitute the majority of them.

Also, I'm assuming capital gains are taxed as income here?

I agree with this. Although I oppose a flat tax, we need to lower the capital gains tax to encourage investment in our economy, especially during a recovery.

[Senator Spark]

Objection. Looking at the Third Emergency Economic Stimulus Act, there are still payments that extend past October 1; they just decrease over time. The amount would still have be calculated, but it would be less than it currently is on the bill.

Upon further thought, the language of the aforementioned bill does not suggest an end date of the payments, so we would have to guess if Congress will end them manually.

With this being said, I believe it is a good idea to have these emergency measures in place until the crisis subsides. For now, we need these protections in place, but I do support the gradual reduction of payments after the crisis concludes. Continuing payments beyond that time can act as a disincentive for people to work and adversely affect the unemployment rate.

[Senator Spark]

Nay.

[Senator Spark]

The need to redo the tax code is vital to starting and keeping businesses in Atlasia.

[Senator Spark]

The need to redo the tax code is vital to starting and keeping businesses in Atlasia.

You can submit an amendment to the budget to do that.

Respectfully, the whole thing needs to be reworked.

[Senator Spark]

Also, I will also add that implementation of all expenditures passed after July 1st, 2021 will need to be delayed for the upcoming fiscal year.

I agree with this. We need to fund our necessities as soon as practical.