Posted on 04/19/2016 8:21:27 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Democrats keep demanding that the rich pay their “fair share” of income taxes. But they never say what fair is. Probably because they know that the rich pay huge amounts while 45% of households pay nothing.
The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has some eye-opening statistics on its site that should silence the “tax fairness” debate, if the numbers were widely known.
For example, did you know that the richest 20% of households pay 88% of federal income taxes? Or that this is up from 64.7% the year before Reagan took office?
Did you know that 45% of all households pay zero taxes? Or that most of these people actually get money back? Tax Policy Center data show that he poorest 20% of households have an effective tax rate of negative 7.5%, while the next poorest 20% face a rate of negative 1.3%.
Ah, the argument goes, but the rich have gotten all the income gains over the past 35 years, so of course their share of income taxes has gone up. The problem is that the share of income accounted by the top 20% has climbed just 7 percentage points since 1980, while their share of income taxes went up by more than 23 points.
The argument continues that these numbers don’t account for payroll and other taxes the poor pay. Yet even when you combine all of these, the average effective tax rate for the poorest among us is a mere 1.9%, while the rate for the wealthiest climbs to 23.4%, Tax Policy Center data show.
The bigger problem with all the talk of “fairness,” however, is that it is a completely undefined term.
You could just as easily argue that the tax code is unfair to the more productive members of society,
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
Anything else is a form of theft.
I’ve volunteered to do people’s taxes. I’d like to see a national sales tax with food and medicine exempted. But the people who pay no taxes but get a $5,000+ “refund” would scream bloody murder!
“Or that most of these people actually get money back?”
BS, this is not what one considers getting a tax refund, this is money that was never paid in, like free money.
Everybody has to pay for Obamacare but not taxes??
This is exactly what got George W. Bush in trouble in the last decade. He signed off on tax cuts, but there wasn't a commensurate cut in government--in fact, it likely expanded on his watch.
To your other comments, I think you're unfortunately correct. It's hard to run on your merits as a politician by saying you "made government smaller," or spent less than your opponent.
First we need less government and to eliminate a large percentage of welfare. That won’t happen so the rest is pointless.
The United States existed on sales taxes, luxury taxes and tarriffs on goods for most of its existence.
It wasn’t until liberals wanted an income tax that we got one.
Income tax needs to go away and be replaced by the pre-Civil War tax model.
Change “percentage” to “amount” and I’m with you. The people who use the most government resources are those who don’t pay at all currently and are wholly subsidized by the government; 0% of 0 is still 0. We need to create an incentive to earn, not to take.
So we got Bernie’s 2015 numbers and Obama’s—what about Hillary’s 2015 income?????? Cruz????? Trump?????
Exactly right! Eliminate the EIC welfare give away.
Reported recently nearly 2/3 of corporations pay little to no federal income tax either.
This is the power D.C. holds over the citizens of this country.
Lois Lerner and Koshgin...whatever his name is are two of the smuggest people I've ever witnessed. They know full well they have all the power and we hold zero.
Holding my breath...but bet I'll turn blue.
...therefore placing the power into the hands of the people. This is why it will never happen.
At least Cruz suggests abolishing the IRS. Trump still supports a progressive tax plan.
Not necessarily railing on Trump, but it's high time to get rid of the IRS. It is the most unAmerican, punitive government agency in the ferrule gubbamint.
Just don't think politicians will relinquish this power.
I certainly wish I had an effective tax rate of 23%. I live in the Communist State of California, however, so my effective tax rate is always padded by at least 7%. But I enjoy great weather, or something like that.
I agree the IRS needs to go. I am a Cruz supporter and I could live with his tax plan. Any form of a progressive plan is a nonstarter with me. Particularly as I had to give the IRS the entire contents of my savings account yesterday. Still steaming.
It’s terrible what they’ve done to Americans. I read an article years ago a man fighting the IRS, they claimed he owed them 220K. He claimed it was 22K. The IRS ran him through the ringer. Took his savings, garnered his income, sold his house. He finally committed suicide.
As time went by, his relatives finally won. The man only owed the IRS around 22K.
Abolish the IRS
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