Posted on 10/24/2009 6:42:46 PM PDT by reaganaut1
Federal income tax rates would have to be nearly tripled across the income spectrum if Congress were to close the deficit in fiscal year 2010, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. Instead of taxing joint filers with rates ranging from 10 percent to 35 percent, tax rates would have to start at 27.2 percent and reach up to 95.2 percent.
"Federal government spending levels are so high that even if policymakers were willing to stop debt-financing government services, the federal tax system in its current form wouldn't be able to raise that much," said Tax Foundation Director of Policy and Communications Bill Ahern, who authored the report, "Can Income Tax Hikes Close the Deficit?" The paper is No. 197 in the Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact series and is available online at http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/25415.html.
"If high-income people had to pay a federal tax rate over 90 percent, plus state and local income taxes and other taxes, total tax rates would be well over 100 percent for many households," he said.
If the federal government were determined to close the 2010 deficit, even resorting to higher income tax rates across the income spectrum, the average tax payment of someone making between $75,000 and $100,000 would jump from $7,055 to $20,515. Taxpayers with AGIs over $1 million would see their tax bills climb from $800,000 to almost $2 million.
Even in 2012, when the President's Budget projects a lower deficit, tax rates would still be need to be prohibitively high in order to balance the budget: nearly double, with rates ranging from 18.7 percent to 74.1 percent.
"... the high tax rates necessary to balance the budget in the next several years would discourage all income-producing endeavors," Ahern said.
(Excerpt) Read more at taxfoundation.org ...
The conventional wisdom both parties is that we can devalue the dollar forever and soon the foreigners can hire us all for free. Wait, is that good??
Does this take into account a declining tax base as Baby Boomers leave the work force?
DON’T GIVE THEM ANY IDEAS!
How do you have a tax rate OVER 100%?
I’m sorry, at WHAT percent of unemployment do these numbers work? What if the unemployment doubles beyond their numbers, do they tax those workers with jobs at 6x?
The other half pay six times.
The liberals have no problem with tripling the tax rate.
And if my Aunt had a ****, she'd be my Uncle.
I believe that is what Obama wants to do. He will destroy the economy, make the dollar worthless, destroy the nation and proudly proclaim that he paid off the debt.
This is all by design. As long as there is a Federal Reserve system, we will never, ever not run debts. Both parties run the debt to greater and greater levels.
No kidding.
Exactly.
The tax rate that generates the greatest revenue to the Treasury has been proved, I think, to be 22% of GDP.
Therefore, since the U.S. has an average of at least 35% of GDP, ANY INCREASE IN TAXES WILL DECREASE REVENUES TO THE TREASURY!!!
The way to get more revenues to "Close the Deficit" is to cut taxes. People will work more, and tax revenues to the Treasury will climb.
Even smart Libs know this. It just doesn't win votes.
Reduce the size of Fedzilla by 66%
The best idea: shrink Fedzilla to its Constitutional bounds...so small that it can be readily drowned in a bathtub, if the need should arise.
The need has arisen!
“What the Obama administration isn’t telling Americans is that the only practical solution is a giant tax increase aimed squarely at the middle class”
- One doesnt need a Ph.D in economics (or anything else for that matter) to know this. We all knew this was coming. Obama’s insane spending spree will have to be paid back by enormous taxes, which will mean another Depression, or CW. Or, just maybe people will figure out ways to earn a living that do not involves giving 50% of our hard-earned to Pelosi and Co. to blow on their special social projects.
If the citizenry ever finds an anonymous way to earn a living (either on or off the net), then the govt will truly send every thug with a badge their way. And it will be bloody.
That sounds about right. If we could radically shrink the monster, there would be lots of free enterprise opportunities in (privately) replacing those functions of government which have value. Doing away with the massive layers of regulation and control would free up our entrepreneurial spirit and encourage investment in new businesses.
Big question - what would we do with all the excess lawyers - export them?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.