• humanspiral@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    2 months ago

    NIT is paid to workers and non workers alike. As is UBI. The maximum NIT refund you get is at 0 earned income. When you earn income, your refund is lowered. That starts at $1 of income. Even if it is called a negative tax, it is still a positive marginal tax rate that reduces your net income for every $ earned.

    An NIT refund comes from the IRS, while UBI can come from IRS or another department. They are still highly related concepts. Other than the most famous NIT proposal has a 50% tax rate on the lower incomes, and frequenly left leaning politicians, instead of UBI propose Guaranteed Minimum Income, with tax rates of 50% to 100% on the lowest incomes.

    Sensible UBI plans use normal tax rates with higher rates on upper incomes if needed.

      • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 months ago

        Guaranteed minimum income plans are either a 100% tax, when literally, all get a minimum income of say $20k, if you earned less than $20k, you don’t keep any of those earnings. Practical, still left of center plans do change this to a more modest 50% clawback rate similar to welfare/EI. The most famous NIT proposal had a 50% tax rate on the lowest income. That is the exact same as the flawed GMI plans.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          2 months ago

          That sounds like a great way to do a poverty trap when you could simply add 20k-reported income to their account. It’s entirely unnecessary to the concept of an NIT.