Tax THIS!
May 12th, 2010 - 2:17 pm
Here’s the good news: Americans are paying less in taxes than at any time since 1950.
Here’s the bad news: Incomes are down, reducing income tax receipts; employment is down, reducing payroll tax receipts; consumer spending is down, reducing sales tax receipts.
And on the horizon: Perhaps a VAT, increased income taxes next year, increased taxes on medical expenses, medical devices, etc. Oh, and a spending binge that will have to be paid for, oh, somehow. Where does government get money again?
Oh, right — taxes.
So you’ll excuse me if I’m not feeling too grateful to my masters in Washington.
Their math is plainly and inescapably wrong, as obvious to anyone who has worked a single day of their lives can attest to. Even if you take all the people who pay no federal income taxes and add them in, it still would average out to more than 9.2%. I think they’re missing a digit in there.
No, if you read the article carefully, you’ll see the two biggest factors are the Clinton/Bush tax cuts, and reduction in sales tax revenue due to the recession.
The issue isn’t really about what we’re paying now; it’s what we will be paying in the future for the multi-trillion-dollar deficits Barry is running up.
Tax cuts or not, the average worker pays more than 20% of their income on state and federal taxes alone. When you add gasoline, sales, and other taxes in, it goes up closer to 30%. And they think somehow that adds up to 9.2%, even if you add in people who pay no federal taxes? Not even if you ignore Social Security.
Jeebus, Taylor, would you read the bloody linked article before shooting off your mouth? They’re talking about income taxes, holmes.
Not to mention they’re obviously averaging across the entire country: “Federal, state and local income taxes consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009.” Recall several states and many local communities don’t collect income taxes.
So it’s not that hard to understand how they developed those numbers, by averaging all fed/state/local income taxes by all income.
I repeat: it isn’t what we’re paying now, it’s what we will be paying in the future that’s the problem. Instead of hyperventilating on side issues (what are “really” paying these days?), focus on the main issue: insane Federal spending will result in ruinous future taxation and the destruction of our financial system. Check Greece out as a future predictor.