New data says the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 40.42 percent of total federal income taxes in 2007 according to a story printed in the NYT on Thursday. This group now pays more federal income tax than the bottom 95 percent of earners. It also reports that fewer and fewer taxpayers are paying an increasing share of taxes than ever before.
Things are going to get ugly when the entitlement class outnumbers taxpayers! It is already happening. People are sensing they can just vote themselves more benefits and “rights” at the expense of the rich — we see populist politicians becoming demagogs and filing right into line, appeasing the masses.
The big problem with this approach… it is going to be difficult to get the rich to pay a bigger percentage of the taxes when the top 10% of earners already pay over 70%. I think the administration is realizing this now — as evidenced by comments earlier today by both Treasury Secretary Geithner and National Economic Council President Larry Summers – both declining to rule out the necessity for middle-class tax increases on Sunday morning interviews.
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
Daniel Horowitz
The rich have the means to hide their money
izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, August 2nd at 9:32PM EST (link)They have done it for hundreds of years. Until Obama is gone they will go into deep hiding. Did you know that about 45,000 NYC taxpayers foot most of the bill to run NYC? A city of 8 Million? Once those 45,000 leave then you will have a real “Escape from New York”. The government won’t have the resources to control what would happen next. And this is government’s greatest fear.
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
Not only that, but...
Steve Maley (Diary) Sunday, August 2nd at 10:26PM EST (link)…give them enough incentive & they will gladly hire accountants & lawyers & lobbyists to beat the system.
The Reagan Revolution got the economy’s focus off of tax avoidance and back on productive activity. And it resulted in a 30 year boom that we’re about to undo.
The blogger formerly known as ‘Vladimir’.
want to hear a joke?
DONTREADONME (Diary) Sunday, August 2nd at 9:36PM EST (link)what do you get from a $2500 dollar bonus after taxes in the state of VA? It is called $1486.00, funny huh? Thank you, IRS, makes me want to work even harder for that bonus. /snark off
want to hear a joke?
DONTREADONME (Diary) Sunday, August 2nd at 9:36PM EST (link)what do you get from a $2500 dollar bonus after taxes in the state of VA? It is called $1486.00, funny huh? Thank you, IRS, makes me want to work even harder for that bonus. /snark off
so what...
dave_in_atl (Diary) Monday, August 3rd at 11:29AM EST (link)The top 1% own basically 40% (OK 38%, but close) of the wealth in the united states… why should they not pay 40% of the taxes?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_of_wealth#In_the_United_States
Wealth vs. Income
Right Reason (Diary) Monday, August 3rd at 12:13PM EST (link)The subject of the thread is income taxes, not wealth. So let’s talk apples to apples:
According to the Tax Foundation (link below), the top 1% of taxpayers paid 40.4% of the income taxes, while earning 22.8% of the income.
Wealth, while sometimes inherited, is most often accumulated over a lifetime of work. Based, upon your comment, I’m guessing you think it’s OK for the government to confiscate, through taxation, that which people have worked their lives to accumulate.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
- Winston Churchill
Sorry, Link Missing
Right Reason (Diary) Monday, August 3rd at 12:17PM EST (link)my first try at linking.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
- Winston Churchill
not realy...
dave_in_atl (Diary) Monday, August 3rd at 12:57PM EST (link)I have nothing against rich people being rich, but I also understand that the top 1% benefit much more from government infrastructure than your average worker working a 9-5. Without the roads they wouldn’t be able to transport their goods to market, without the police, and fire dept they would likely be no market.
I don’t think anyone should have to pay more than their fair share because of how much money they make (or don’t make), but when you control a major chunk of the wealth it is not unreasonable to expect that you will have to provide a major chunk of the tax revenue.
I guess I would put it this way… if I had 100% of the wealth nobody other than me could afford to pay taxes in the first place
(income or not).
This is not to say I think they are being under taxed or taxed just right…. I think a good chunk of tax revenue is wasted and would be better spent in the hands of citizens…. but the distribution of taxes across the population does not bother me much…. the only major thing that bothers me is the large percentage of people who pay no taxes at all.
Again, it's the income vs. wealth thing.
Right Reason (Diary) Monday, August 3rd at 1:14PM EST (link)The two are not the same. If we all pay the same rate based on our incomes, that’s fine. Then, your bracket’s tax payments would equal your share of the income. So if I make $1,000,000, I pay the same percentage of it as the guy who makes $10,000. Of course, I likely have more left over, with which I may buy a bigger house, a car, whatever. This constitutes my “wealth”. But what you appear to be OK with, is taxing me at a higher rate based on that wealth, i.e., based on PAST income. You’re, in essence, taxing my income multiple times. Sorry, I DON’T happen to be OK with that.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
- Winston Churchill
Wealth is what they had left over and owned BEFORE their present income - nt
Mike gamecock DeVine (Diary) Monday, August 3rd at 1:29PM EST (link)Mike DeVine’s Examiner.com, Charlotte Observer and The Minority Report columns
“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson