Paying taxes in the US

1. 59

   tjmatel3posted 14 years ago

   The Congressional Budget Office's latest numbers show that the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans pay about 70 percent of all taxes, while the poorest 50 percent pay about 3 percent.  In fact, some people pay nothing at all when tax credits and deductions are factored in.
   
   Should the wealthiest among us pay more taxes?

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      brimancandyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      That is the biggest bunch of balony I have ever heard. How can 10 percent of any population pay more than the majority? I would like to know who did the math on that one, and how they get their figures. Who are these weathiest Americans? And what does this budget office consider wealthy?
      
      The facts are backwards. The only break the poor get is that they might be lucky enough to have a job to live on, and receive a tax refund, because they didn't make enough money to owe taxes. So, the 3 percent that they are talking about, may be the ones who did not get a refund.
      
      There was a report on the news stating that people making between 40,000 and 250,000 a year pay a majority of the taxes to the tune of 37 percent, while the wealthiest and the very poor pay the least. Mainly because a majority of the poor they counted are on welfare, and the rich have so many tax breaks and loopholes to get out of paying their taxes. that they eventually end up paying little or nothing.
      
      I agree that a flat tax on your weekly income would be fair to every one. We all have taxes taken out of our paychecks as it is. We could still have the regular tax deductions to help out, but, we need to end all this other crap, like not having to report money you send to a foreign country, to avoid paying taxes on it, like the rich often do. NO LOOPHOLES!

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      1. 61

         Milla Mahnoposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         You certainly will benefit from learning maths
         
         So, let's see your outline. Middle class pays 37%. Poor don't pay, they are on welfare. If rich are not paying either, who is paying the rest 63% then? Santa?

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   2. 77

      psycheskinnerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Yes.
      
      A payment that is propotional is more fair than one that is flat because it represents a similar psychological/lifestyle imposition.

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2. 60

   ediggityposted 14 years ago

   We should all pay flat tax.

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   1. 59

      couturepopcafeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Right you are.  Flat tax is the way to go.  No exemptions, No exceptions.

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3. 70

   pitzeleposted 14 years ago

   Flat tax may be the way to go, but that tax better be based on each individual's income.  If not, then you are proposing an annual burden on many who are incapable of keeping their heads above water, so to speak, let alone pay a yearly flat tax.

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   1. 59

      couturepopcafeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, flat tax means a percentage of your income but it's not based on individual income.  If the law is 10% flat tax, and you earn $100, you pay $10 or 10%.  If you earn $500,000 you pay 10% or $50,000.  The way it is now, the low earner pays a low percentage and the high earner pays a high percentage, as high as 45% or thereabout.

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4. 61

   Milla Mahnoposted 14 years ago

   Any tax is a robbery, yet if everyone has to be robbed anyway flat tax no exemptions is more fair. And btw saves a lot of taxpayer money because you don't need IRS any more, at least not of the current humongous size.

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5. 61

   JR Whiteposted 14 years ago

   Robin Hood.
   
   If entitlements like Medicaid increase as is planned with ObamaCare, then the govt's revenues will have to increase. Revenue can increase only if the economy expands (that is, if business grow and hire) or if the tax rate goes up for the 50% who do pay taxes.  Since businesses are not hiring because they have several disincentives to do so like increasing regulatory and benefits costs, that leaves only higher taxes, which will ultimately result in higher unemployment, more foreclosures, and increasing numbers of people not paying taxes.  So the tax base continually shrinks as the govt gets larger and more expensive.  Not a formula for happiness.
   
   No tax scheme, including a flat tax, helps to cut the govt's need for revenue. Only cutting the bloated Federal bureaucracy will do that.

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   1. 59

      couturepopcafeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      We all seem to get this.  Why can't they?  Logically, the cuts would need to be in foreign aid.  Take care of the homeland first.

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6. 91

   habeeposted 14 years ago

   I like the idea of a national sales tax. Luxury items would be heavily taxed: yachts, expensive cars, big diamonds, etc. Those buying only necessities like food and clothing would pay little. We could do away with most of the IRS, and none of us would have to dread April 15 every year.

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7. 91

   habeeposted 14 years ago

   This is the info I found:
   
   "The latest data show that a big portion of the federal income tax burden is shoul­dered by a small group of the very richest Americans. The wealthiest 1 percent of the population earn 19 per­cent of the income but pay 37 percent of the income tax. The top 10 percent pay 68 percent of the tab. Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent—those below the median income level—now earn 13 percent of the income but pay just 3 percent of the taxes. These are proportions of the income tax alone and don’t include payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare."

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   1. 89

      wildernessposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Those are interesting numbers, Habee, and seems to me to give a lie to the idea that the rich don't pay their share.

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