Posted on 02/22/2012 5:46:16 PM PST by ConservativeStatement
Only half of U.S. citizens pay federal income tax, according to the latest available figures.
In 2009, just 50.5 per cent of Americans paid any income tax to the federal government - the lowest proportion in at least half a century.
And the number of people outside the tax system could have climbed even higher since as the economic downturn has continued to bite and unemployment has remained high.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
My daughter made $23,000 last year. She not only paid 15% of her earnings in FICA, she paid over $1500 in Federal Income Tax and $200 in State income tax.
Like I said, who are these 50.5%
I totally agree. And I support the Obama plan to tax net worth. People like Warren Buffet who are eating on golden dinner plates ought to pay more. The 'net worth' tax where a wealthy person pays 10% of his/her net worth each year until they are penniless is the way to go. Just think of it, no more wealthy rock stars or movie actresses. John Travolta's airport would belong to the people and he can eat at the soup kitchen. With the net worth tax in place, the excess dollars can be redistributed to those who would vote democrat in all future elections ( as long as they have money to eat and gamble at the nearest casino and that their kids all get chicken nuggets for lunch at school ).
Bottom line ---- the net worth tax would be quicker and less painful to get to a fully socialistic state. Might as well lay back and enjoy it....
sarc/off
For every gallon of gas you buy how much goes to the Federal Government? Something like 50 cents. That’s a pot load of money going to the Federal Government right there. Income tax is just a part of what goes to the Federal Government. They aren’t hurting because not enough people pay. They’re hurting because they’re scum bags. Pure and simple. A pox on all of them.
let me ask....in prep for some leftist arguement....how many of those US citizens are children who don’t work?
People who bitch about freeloaders aren’t paying attention. There are those who are getting screwed less and those getting screwed more, but, if you buy gas you are PAYING!!! The freeloaders are in DC and in the Federal Reserve becoming MULTI-MILLIONAIRES. We need to turn against THEM rather than letting them turn us against each other while they skate free of any consequences for what they’ve been doing for DECADES!!
And in the process removed most income tax deductions from everybody and lengthened the depreciation timetables on improved real estate, which arguably contributed to the recent collapse of commercial real estate.
“Two centuries ago, a somewhat obscure Scotsman named Tytler made this profound observation:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.” “
What's it like over there on the Dark Side?
The state income tax payment is a non-sequitor as we're talking federal income tax.
Is your daughter self employed? If not, she didn't pay 15% in FICA, she paid half that, her employer paid the other half (yes, I understand the argument that if that tax wasn't there she COULD have the additional employer participation in her pocket, or not). FICA has been sold as insurance premiums (hence the I in OADSI) and most people think of it as a retirement program.
As far as the percentage of people not paying federal income tax, they aren't single without dependents, so you're daughter (if I may assume she's not claiming dependents) doesn't qualify. Mostly they are single parent households with low income and large number of dependents. Check form 1040A and don't forget to add that child tax credit (refundable) in. I don't know where 50%+ came from , but the IRS does show around 47% not paying federal INCOME tax (this does not include payroll tax regardless of the fact that those receipts end up in the general fund anyway). They may pay through withholding, but the combination of refundable tax credits like EIC and child tax credit result in no tax liability and in many cases a refund of free money they didn't pay in, ostensibly to offset their payroll taxes (see SSA for an explanation of the EITC).
And to add to this, recently we've had a nice expose of a tax "preparation" scam here in Tidewater VA (and in other states since the company is in multiple states) of a company called "Mo' Money" tax service that was fraudulently preparing tax returns of mainly low income people which netted huge refunds (they made their money on a percentage of the refund). Thankfully they've been outted and are under investigation.
Do you understand what the command sarc/off means????
No, she paid it all. The amount the employer pays is the same that she pays and it all comes out of HER earnings.
FICA has been sold as insurance premiums (hence the I in OADSI) and most people think of it as a retirement program.
I don't care how it is sold, it is a tax on income and to make it worse it is a tax on wages. Every working American pays 15% of their income in taxes before they pay any of the other non-FICA taxes. They also pay gasoline taxes, excise taxes, luxury taxes, and tons of hidden fees for every penny they spend.
The problem is not that these people aren't paying their fair share, the problem is that the government is just too damn big and government spending is out of control.
The LAST thing the federal government needs is MORE MONEY...
More money is poison to the federal government..
The federal government needs LESS MONEY and a broader tax base.. with less tax paid by each taxpayer..
I’ve seen lower income people get more than enough back on their taxes through earned income credit that it more than made up for the 15%.
I raised three children, owned a home, drove 2 cars, took vacations, smoked cigarettes, drank booze and beer, had a dog, had a cat, dressed O.K., ate with the best of them, went out occasionally, and had a bank account.....and never made 30,000.
Correct! Bush took people off the rolls and made the tables more progressive. And RINO's like McCain went along with the "taxcut for the rich" meme. Sheesh.
and always had a tax liability....paid it too!!!
You have to consider that in the context of who owns the wealth.
http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
As of 2007, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 85%, leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of one’s home), the top 1% of households had an even greater share: 42.7%.
And the top 1% of income earners actually pay a smaller percentage of their incomes to taxes than the 9% just below them.
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