All Tax Hikes Eventually Hit Middle Class

IBD Editorials ^ | October 4, 2010 | WALTER WILLIAMS

[Kaslin]

One of President Obama's campaign promises was not to raise taxes on middle-class Americans. So here's my question: If there's a corporate tax increase either in the form of "cap and trade" or income tax, does it turn out to be a middle-class tax increase? Most people would say no, but let's look at it.

There's a whole subject area in economics known as tax incidence — namely, who bears the burden of a tax? The first thing that should be recognized is that the burden of a tax is not necessarily borne by the party upon whom it is levied. That is, for example, if a sales tax is levied on gasoline retailers, they don't bear the full burden of the tax. Part of it is shifted to customers in the form of higher gasoline prices.

Suppose your local politician tells you, as a homeowner, "I'm not going to raise taxes on you! I'm going to raise taxes on your land." You'd probably tell him that he's an idiot because land does not pay taxes; only people pay taxes. That means a tax on your land is a tax on you. You say, "Williams, that's pretty elementary, isn't it?" Not quite.

What about the politician who tells us that he's not going to raise taxes on the middle class; instead, he's going to raise corporate income taxes as means to get rich corporations to pay their rightful share of government?

[lowbridge]

George Will: No Luxury in the End

Tax Aimed at Wealthy Had Unintended Consequences for the Poor

Critics say the president’s tax proposals favor the rich at the expense of ordinary people.

Maybe. Maybe not.

But a recent event reminded us of the perils of taxing the rich to help common folks.

Twelve days ago, the luxury tax on expensive cars expired. It was the last of the luxury taxes that the first President Bush signed in 1990 as part of the budget agreement in which he broke his “read my lips, no new taxes” pledge.

The agreement was brokered Sen. George Mitchell , D-Maine , then majority leader. And the luxury tax was supported by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.

The luxury tax applied not just to cars, but to jewelry, furs and private planes, and to expensive boats — yachts.

http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/story?id=132568&page=1

[vpintheak]

Everything gets passed on. It’s simply fact. Brain dead lieberals and the people they control are the only fools who try to believe it.

[GregoryFul]

Actually, all tax hikes make the poor, poorer.

[barb-tex]

Robin Hood robbed the rich because that was where the money was, 0 robs the Middle class for the same reason. The WEALTHY
Threshold will become lower and lower

[dufekin]

Obama actually taxes the middle class to GIVE enormous subsidies to the billionaire bankers and other wealthy Democrats who in turn give a small kickback to bankroll Democrat politicians (in exchange for enormous tax exclusions). Why? Because the poor and destitute have no money, but the middle class can’t afford to invest in politicians like the rich can—and practically must do to stay rich.

[Graybeard58]

Williams does such a good job of explaining elementary economics that even liberals should “get it”. Yet they don’t.

Tax the rich! Yeah, that’s the ticket!

[Kaslin]

They don’t get it, because they are ignorant and don’t want to get it

[1010RD]

only people pay taxes

Liberals don't get it. After hours of explaining it using numerous examples they just look at you and say, "...but the company does pay something."

I don't know if it is stupidity or prideful immaturity.

[depressed in 06]

All taxes are paid by the consumer.

[Lysandru]

Liberals don't get it.

After hours of explaining it using numerous examples they just look at you and say, "...but the company does pay something."

I don't know if it is stupidity or prideful immaturity.

I don't know either.

I have been saying for years that corporate income taxes are a convenient fiction for politicians. Williams says it better: People pay taxes!

[vpintheak]

I seriously think that people who think like that do have some sort of mental shortcoming. Something in their brains fails to mature. How else can you explain it? It is logic so simple young children can follow it, but yet time and again these people fail to grasp it.

[BitWielder1]

All taxes will eventually hit people in the wallet when they buy a product.
Corporate taxes are money that can never show up in your paycheck.
Of course it's a tax on the poor and middle class eventually.
When the rich get poor, the poor get even poorer.