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Posted on 11/13/2008 4:20:54 PM PST by NCjim
During the presidential election campaign many were dumbfounded upon hearing for the first time that at least a third of Americans pay no income taxes whatsoever. The Tax Foundation notes that in 2006, 45.6 million filers (33%) paid no income tax whatsoever. Under current law, in 2009 47 million filers—representing approximately 96 million individuals— will pay no income tax.
The Foundation maintains that under Obama's tax plan 63 million filers— representing 44% of all returns— will pay no income tax. In contrast, in 1985, just 16.5% of filers paid no income tax.
It appears Obama wasn't kidding about redistributing the wealth, although he appears to be somewhat late to the game.
At the other end of the spectrum, IRS data show that in 2006 the top 10% of all filers ( $109,000 and above in taxable income) paid 71% of all income taxes. The top 25% ( $65,000 and above) paid 86% of all income taxes.
Exempting huge swaths of the populace from the income tax burden while piling that burden on a shrinking cohort is a prescription for economic, political and social dysfunction.
Eventually, even fans of steeply progressive taxation might be compelled to ask, "Do the top 25% of filers really access/consume 86% of all government services?" Obviously, the relationship between government and citizen isn't a retail one, but we shouldn't be surprised if the imbalance displayed by the above figures begins to prompt such unvarnished questions around kitchen tables across the country.
Sure, many of those who don't pay income taxes still pay excise, payroll, etc. taxes. But income taxes represent the biggest tax bite by far. The anger and resentment at bailing out Wall Street, Detroit, etc. isn't going to be dampened by the belief that nearly half of Americans won't be doing much bailing at all.
Yes! Why not?
Two years ago, after having worked my tail off for my entire lifetime, I got fed up with working my buns off only to have more than half of everything I earned confiscated by my uncle Sam. I retired from a fairly lucrative business at age 58 and currently have zero "income". I have, thus far, managed to live in a reasonably comfortable manner.
Same here. I was raised in a frugal household. I know the difference between wants and needs. Now that I am getting older, I find that there are a great many benefits to having lived within my means. I didn't know it was called shrugging until I read the book!
bookmark
We have reached that point over the last few years. It is really time for the productive to slow down and gently shrug IMHO.
Well, truth be known, I don't want to pay for ANY little kids to go to school unless they're mine. And none of them are mine.
How many “normal” non-filers are there? IRS certainly knows. Remember that huge rebate everyone got last year? You had to file a tax return in order to get it. I don’t know if I would give the Dimwits credit for thinking outside the box on this one but because of the requirement to file in order to receive, the govt now knows a lot more about a lot of people than they did before. Also understand there are still lots of checks outstanding which have never been cashed or were returned because of address issues.
That book changed my life. We, too, have been shrugging.
Living simply and within our means is much better than being a hamster on the wheel.
231,000,000% as of Oct 9. Mindboggling isn’t it?
Actually a Hamburger costs roughly 50 billion dollars. I bought a 100 billion dollar bill for 4 dollars. Makes for a nice novelty item.
You move the money FIRST, Publius. Then you leave. THEN you tell them goodbye.
No one is stupid enough to say “HAY THARE SERGEANT CARTER! I AM GOING TO LEAVE AND I AM RENOUNCIN’ MY US CITIZENSHIP. JUST LETTIN YOU KNOW SO THAT YOU CAN ..., YOU KNOW... THINK ABOUT WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO WITH ANY MONEY I HAVE IN THE BANK. CAUSE WHEN I LEAVE, I AIN’T PAYING YOU ANY OF IT. YOU HEAR ME, SGT CARTER?”
It is still easy to walk across the border with about 50,000 dollars in gold in your front pocket (maybe with cargo pants!). Charter a private plane. They are counting on us to be sheep and most of us will.
The wisest thing you can do at present is take a vacation to the Dominican Republic. If you “invest” 17,000 dollars there (buy a cd) and bring a letter from your sherriff saying you are a person of good moral character and not a criminal, you can get a statement of residency in the Dominican Republic. You don’t have to stay, but you are a “resident.” Return in 3 years, take the test, and guess what, you have dual citizenship with a passport. After that, they can’t track you (unless you are a real real real bad dude,and then they will get you no matter where you run). Oh, and you can then cash out the CD. You can get citizenship in Costa Rica or Panama if you are active in certain businesses and have about $50K. Everyone should be thinking of these things, even if you never act. Brazil and the Philippines have no extradition treaties with the US.
one refinement (with acknowledgement to R.A.H.) - you don’t serve, you don’t vote.
Join the Mobile Infantry!
24th Amendment — how in the world did that ever get passed?
“There are a billion Chinese and another billion Indian guys...”
When “Atlas Shrugged” was published in 1957, it hadn’t yet occurred to anyone that there could be such a thing as a U.N.-sanctioned global tax to sustain the moochers and the looters.
Hussein’s “Global Poverty Act” could cut both ways: it would “spread U.S. wealth around” to places outside the U.S.; it could also spread foreign wealth around inside the U.S.
It’s simply a step toward world socialism and de facto one-world government. Could this be part of hussein’s oft-repeated phrase, “I’m going to change the world?”
Zim
They passed it because southern states were using the poll tax to prevent blacks from voting.
Tell us what your plans are for the site.
It is now time for Atlas to Shrug...
Atlas Shrugged Ping!
You can’t be serious. That would only result in endless lobbying to set the “poverty level deduction” higher and higher to exclude and thereby buy the votes of more and more people. Even if it stayed at the current poverty level, that is still 14% of the populace that get a free ride and pay no taxes. Why should anyone be left out of their civic obligations ?
I’d rather EVERYONE pay a flat 10%, even the minimum wage worker, even if that meant the minimum wage needed to be raised to compensate and leave them the same purchasing power. Lowering employers’ tax rate from 35% to 10% should more han compensate them for the higher wage they have to pay to get those low-wage workers back on the tax rolls.
I know they’ve tried, but I think you could still transfer assets to a foreign corporation ahead of your planned move so your personal assets are under the threshold at the time you renounce citizenship. That simple step might still let you exit tax-free. If not, there is a whole cottage industry of people to arrange foundations, trusts, etc. to make it happen.
The Big Shrug. . .
Lets make it impossible for them to govern. We must suck all the capital out of the room.
But then there is the Military. Barney already wants to cut 25%. They have us over a barrel in this respect, and they know it.
How can it be done without harming those defending us? Any thoughts?
Doll&Jindal12
tehDeets
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