Posted on 06/14/2007 11:43:14 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
Last week, Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee released a draft of their tax plan that would raise the highest income tax rate by 4.3 percentage points to 39.3 percent immediately. And because the proposal doesn't extend the Bush tax cuts, the highest income tax rate would rise to the neighborhood of 44 percent after 2010; this would lift the top federal income tax rate higher than it was even under Bill Clinton, says the Wall Street Journal.
Moreover, families with incomes between $250,000 and $500,000, the "marginal" tax rate paid on the next dollar of earned income could soar to 80 percent, or in some cases even above 100 percent. The point of this revenue grab is to pay for making families with earnings under $250,000 a year exempt from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT):
**Without legislation this year, the number of Americans who pay the AMT will rise as much as six-fold to 23 million.
**Even those with incomes as low as $60,000 could pay the AMT in some high-tax states.
**Maryland's Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has said his party risks a tax revolt in 2008 without some kind of AMT patch.
So Democrats are proposing to raise taxes on three million Americans in order to exempt 20 million from the AMT, says the Journal:
**The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans already pay more than one of every three income tax dollars into the Treasury.
**Under the Ways and Means proposal, the share of all income taxes paid by the top 1 percent would rise to nearly 40 percent.
**The top 2 percent would pay roughly as much as the bottom 98 percent of all taxpayers.
Source: Editorial, "100% Marginal Tax Rate," Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2007.
Remember the old luxury tax ?
The elites then had their expensive yachts built over seas. The government collected very little revenue.
Ten of thousands of middle class families suffered from the loss of these good paying jobs. It hit the direct ship yard workers and also the secondary set of workers and their families ( nearby restaurant, shopping, entertainment jobs and businesses ).
I plan to stay and fight to take my country back.
Not correct. There is "earned income" (wages, tips, etc.) and there is "unearned income" (dividends, interest, capital gains, etc).
Income tax is owed on any and all "income" (earned and unearned)after all considerations (deductions, allowances, etc.)
yitbos
I never pay the AMT, so that means I already pay more than those with the same income as me. And they should be paying even less?
Predictable Dhimmicrat socialism.
Remember...they aren’t talking about altering the capital gains rates, taking away tax free munis, ect.
Yeah, that guy with six kids shouldn't get more deductions than you. And that retired guy who gets only dividend income on his portfolio should pay more than that fixed 15%.
That's the ticket. If the guy makes more, tax him until he has the same income as everyone else.
And while we're at it. If that guy doesn't make as much as others, give him some more until all are equal.
yitbos
Of course it would be
this is direct result of the change in congressional leadership.
Those who whine about Republicans have no idea of what is really in store, once the redistributionists hold all the cards.
Sure they are. "Ok, for the purposes of this article". It's right in the article:
"And because the proposal doesn't extend the Bush tax cuts,. . ."
GW and a Republican congress lowered taxes on dividends, increased gift tax exemption, increased inheritance tax exemption, increased 401K and IRA contributions, established Health Savings Accounts, increased Education Savings Account contributions, increased personal and dependent exemptions. And more.
yitbos
That has got to be absolute insanity .... of course high level execs will get paid in stock and thus only be subject to capital gains taxes. But a pair of doctors will get SOAKED.
While your at it, don't forget about that rich guys that makes millions. We should really tax his ass.
In fact, that is exactly why the AMT was created. To make those "high level execs" pay more tax.
The problem is, the AMT is flawed. Now it will stick a lot of average Joes who are not CEOs.
yitbos
Slowly but surely, inch by inch, we approach Democrat Tax Nirvana, where the great bulk of income tax revenues are paid by only a tiny minority of less than 10 percent of citizens with taxable income, while the vast majority of voters, because they pay little or no income taxes therefore have a vested interest in maintaining their happy state by voting for continuing Tax the Rich policies. Thus, there is will be no driving political motivation to reduce marginal income tax rates, but strong vote-getting appeal in imposing near confiscatory tax rates on the “rich,” members of that unworthy demographic that according to Al Gore “got lucky in life’s lottery.”
Eh, eh. Once upon a time I had a boss (he owned the company). He advised me one day on efficiency.
"Why should I work my butt off hiring all these people, worrying about their welfare, providing this service and products, if I can't make more than a 5% profit? I might as well sell this company, put my money in Treasury Bonds at 5.5%, and go fishing."
yitbos
Wrong. It means you didn't tickle the right triggers when filing your income tax. I wouldn't have been hit by AMT if I hadn't claimed the my property taxes and minimal home mortgage interest on my investment/rental. I've been hit the last two years. $740 the first time. $940 the next time. My deductions are declared "single, 0". My wife does the same and has extra taken out to compensate for the "marriage penalty". I also lost my oldest son as a dependent.
You will not even hear Republicans refer to the "payroll tax" in the same breath as income taxes. That is the killer of the low income. They all pay it. Over 13%.
Those on the bottom rung are happy enough only to look at "take home pay", never the tax withheld. They may think they are paying no income tax, but everyone of them is hit for payroll tax on everything they earn.
Social Security and Medicare Taxes are income taxes no matter what euphemism they are called. There are no deductions, no credits, no nothing on payroll taxes.
yitbos
Please explain. When I do my taxes, its done with all my deductions. and then compared with the AMT.
Those professional athletes and actors are really disgusting. How dare they demand all that money? Same for those CEOs. Anybody can do that work. And brain surgeons! Their labor is no more valuable than the janitor. Perhaps you should call the janitor when you need brain surgery next time. There may not be any of the "rich guys" interested in spending years getting the proper training.
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