I have written a few posts throughout the history of this blog about taxes. With all the talk (and hyperbole) about the "Republican tax plan" working its way through Congress now, I felt compelled to do another. I do recommend and ask that if you care about this subject that you go back a few posts and read a series of three posts where I investigated and reported on tax cuts and their effect on tax revenues. There are three posts. The first is: http://justsomeposts.blogspot.com/2017/06/death-and-taxes-ok-just-taxes.html Then the next two follow consecutively.
Since I know most of you probably will not - the quick and dirty bottom-line is every time that tax cuts have been instituted they have paid for themselves. I even included a spreadsheet with the data if you care to review it yourself.
If you have read many of these posts you know I have some "lessons" and truths that I am trying to get across to the readers. The idiotic games being played in Washington (and State capitals for as well) and the irresponsible reporting on fiscal issues has made people ignorant of the actual financials of our government. Those truths include these that are relevant to this post:
1) There is NO GOVERNMENT MONEY. All money comes from taxpayers or through inflation-inducing policies where the government prints money and injects it into the economy. Saying that Federal money or State money is going to pay for something is saying - the taxpayers are paying for it.
2) Corporations DO NOT PAY TAXES! People pay taxes. If you buy Campbell's soup you are helping the Campbell's company pay their taxes. The price of the soup includes a portion for taxes. This is a gross simplification, but basically true.
If the average person just understood these two things a lot of the idiotic fiscal shenanigans in Washington would be shut down. It is not a Republican/Democrat thing! It is a class warfare, give (or get) your money to (or from) an all-knowing, benevolent government that can cure all ills. Here is one question to ask yourself about our government and their ability to fix things. If you are old enough to remember more than one (the more the better) election cycle, how about recalling the problems that the candidate/incumbent was going to solve for us? They have been the same since I started voting many, many elections ago. Government is NOT THE ANSWER - GOVERNMENT IS (a LOT of) THE PROBLEM! There is almost nothing government can do more efficiently than the private sector when the private sector is allowed free enterprise.
Now, to taxes, tax plans, tax cuts and more: Any time tax cuts are mentioned the argument is that they are "tax cuts for the rich". This is more of the class warfare I was mentioning above. Through disingenuous reporting (lies for those of you that like things simpler) and decades of bringing up the rare exception or tax cheats - people have the misconception that the rich do not pay taxes; or at least they do not pay "their fair share." I have traded emails and communications with many folks when I publish posts about taxes that use that as essentially their entire argument. SMH!
Here are some facts (remember, we are talking FEDERAL INCOME TAXES - another tactic used to confuse this discussion is to add into the figures/discussion. State taxes, sales taxes or more commonly Withholding "taxes" - however, the tax bill offered up now or normally is not addressing these issues*) : The people in the top 20% of wage earners paid 86.8% of ALL INCOME TAXES in 2015 (the last year I could find exact figures for that I could document from two independent sources - from the Tax Policy Center and confirmed by IRS.GOV)
Even more demonstrable is: THE TOP 1% OF WAGE EARNERS PAID 43.6% of ALL INCOME TAXES in 2015.
AND THE TOP 0.1% PAID JUST OVER OF 20% of ALL INCOME TAXES in 2015.
Another figure: In 2013, the top 1 percent of taxpayers accounted for more income taxes paid than the bottom 90 percent combined. Fair? Enough?
I am not sure what reasonable people would say is fair for the top 1% (or 10% or even the top 0.1%) but it seems that almost 87% of ALL INCOME TAXES PAID would be pretty "fair". Tax cuts are by necessity going to benefit the wealthy over the poor as they wealthy pay the taxes! It is common sense that cutting income taxes will not benefit those that do not pay any. The bottom 40% of income earners PAY NO INCOME TAXES NOW! For the most part, they get money in excess of what was withheld for them in the form of tax credits! You cannot "cut" what is not there! Please remind someone of this the next time they comment about the "rich not paying their fair share".
For the record, I am nowhere near the top 1% or even the top 10% so this is NOT a cry from personal gain. I just am fed up with the misconceptions and class warfare that is the argument every time tax cuts is rolled out.
* as a note: the top 20% paid @69% OF ALL TAXES including withholding and others - so that argument is moot as well.
Since I know most of you probably will not - the quick and dirty bottom-line is every time that tax cuts have been instituted they have paid for themselves. I even included a spreadsheet with the data if you care to review it yourself.
If you have read many of these posts you know I have some "lessons" and truths that I am trying to get across to the readers. The idiotic games being played in Washington (and State capitals for as well) and the irresponsible reporting on fiscal issues has made people ignorant of the actual financials of our government. Those truths include these that are relevant to this post:
1) There is NO GOVERNMENT MONEY. All money comes from taxpayers or through inflation-inducing policies where the government prints money and injects it into the economy. Saying that Federal money or State money is going to pay for something is saying - the taxpayers are paying for it.
2) Corporations DO NOT PAY TAXES! People pay taxes. If you buy Campbell's soup you are helping the Campbell's company pay their taxes. The price of the soup includes a portion for taxes. This is a gross simplification, but basically true.
If the average person just understood these two things a lot of the idiotic fiscal shenanigans in Washington would be shut down. It is not a Republican/Democrat thing! It is a class warfare, give (or get) your money to (or from) an all-knowing, benevolent government that can cure all ills. Here is one question to ask yourself about our government and their ability to fix things. If you are old enough to remember more than one (the more the better) election cycle, how about recalling the problems that the candidate/incumbent was going to solve for us? They have been the same since I started voting many, many elections ago. Government is NOT THE ANSWER - GOVERNMENT IS (a LOT of) THE PROBLEM! There is almost nothing government can do more efficiently than the private sector when the private sector is allowed free enterprise.
Now, to taxes, tax plans, tax cuts and more: Any time tax cuts are mentioned the argument is that they are "tax cuts for the rich". This is more of the class warfare I was mentioning above. Through disingenuous reporting (lies for those of you that like things simpler) and decades of bringing up the rare exception or tax cheats - people have the misconception that the rich do not pay taxes; or at least they do not pay "their fair share." I have traded emails and communications with many folks when I publish posts about taxes that use that as essentially their entire argument. SMH!
Here are some facts (remember, we are talking FEDERAL INCOME TAXES - another tactic used to confuse this discussion is to add into the figures/discussion. State taxes, sales taxes or more commonly Withholding "taxes" - however, the tax bill offered up now or normally is not addressing these issues*) : The people in the top 20% of wage earners paid 86.8% of ALL INCOME TAXES in 2015 (the last year I could find exact figures for that I could document from two independent sources - from the Tax Policy Center and confirmed by IRS.GOV)
Even more demonstrable is: THE TOP 1% OF WAGE EARNERS PAID 43.6% of ALL INCOME TAXES in 2015.
AND THE TOP 0.1% PAID JUST OVER OF 20% of ALL INCOME TAXES in 2015.
Another figure: In 2013, the top 1 percent of taxpayers accounted for more income taxes paid than the bottom 90 percent combined. Fair? Enough?
I am not sure what reasonable people would say is fair for the top 1% (or 10% or even the top 0.1%) but it seems that almost 87% of ALL INCOME TAXES PAID would be pretty "fair". Tax cuts are by necessity going to benefit the wealthy over the poor as they wealthy pay the taxes! It is common sense that cutting income taxes will not benefit those that do not pay any. The bottom 40% of income earners PAY NO INCOME TAXES NOW! For the most part, they get money in excess of what was withheld for them in the form of tax credits! You cannot "cut" what is not there! Please remind someone of this the next time they comment about the "rich not paying their fair share".
For the record, I am nowhere near the top 1% or even the top 10% so this is NOT a cry from personal gain. I just am fed up with the misconceptions and class warfare that is the argument every time tax cuts is rolled out.
* as a note: the top 20% paid @69% OF ALL TAXES including withholding and others - so that argument is moot as well.
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