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FACT CHECK: Are rich taxed less?
http://news.yahoo.com/fact-check-rich-taxed-less-secretaries-070642868.html
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama makes it sound as if there are millionaires all over America paying taxes at lower rates than their secretaries.
"Middle-class families shouldn't pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires," Obama said Monday. "That's pretty straightforward. It's hard to argue against that."
The data tell a different story. On average, the wealthiest people in America pay a lot more taxes than the middle class or the poor, according to private and government data. They pay at a higher rate, and as a group, they contribute a much larger share of the overall taxes collected by the federal government.
There may be individual millionaires who pay taxes at rates lower than middle-income workers. In 2009, 1,470 households filed tax returns with incomes above $1 million yet paid no federal income tax, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That, however, was less than 1 percent of the nearly 237,000 returns with incomes above $1 million.
In his White House address Monday, Obama called on Congress to increase taxes by $1.5 trillion as part of a 10-year deficit reduction package totaling more than $3 trillion. He proposed that Congress overhaul the tax code and impose what he called the "Buffett rule," named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
The rule says, "People making more than $1 million a year should not pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than middle-class families pay."
"Warren Buffett's secretary shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett. There is no justification for it," Obama said. "It is wrong that in the United States of America, a teacher or a nurse or a construction worker who earns $50,000 should pay higher tax rates than somebody pulling in $50 million."
Buffett wrote in a recent piece for The New York Times that the tax rate he paid last year was lower than that paid by any of the other 20 people in his office.
This year, households making more than $1 million will pay an average of 29.1 percent of their income in federal taxes, including income taxes and payroll taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.
Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay 15 percent of their income in federal taxes.
Lower-income households will pay less. For example, households making between $40,000 and $50,000 will pay an average of 12.5 percent of their income in federal taxes. Households making between $20,000 and $30,000 will pay 5.7 percent.
The latest IRS figures are a few years older — and limited to federal income taxes — but show much the same thing. In 2009, taxpayers who made $1 million or more paid on average 24.4 percent of their income in federal income taxes, according to the IRS.
Those making $100,000 to $125,000 paid on average 9.9 percent in federal income taxes. Those making $50,000 to $60,000 paid an average of 6.3 percent.
Obama's claim hinges on the fact that, for high-income families and individuals, investment income is often taxed at a lower rate than wages. The top tax rate for dividends and capital gains is 15 percent. The top marginal tax rate for wages is 35 percent, though that is reserved for taxable income above $379,150.
With tax rates that high, why do so many people pay at lower rates? Because the tax code is riddled with more than $1 trillion in deductions, exemptions and credits, and they benefit people at every income level, according to data from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress' official scorekeeper on revenue issues.
The Tax Policy Center estimates that 46 percent of households, mostly low- and medium-income households, will pay no federal income taxes this year. Most, however, will pay other taxes, including Social Security payroll taxes.
"People who are doing quite well and worry about low-income people not paying any taxes bemoan the fact that they get so many tax breaks that they are zeroed out," said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. "People at the bottom of the distribution say, but all of those rich guys are getting bigger tax breaks than we're getting, which is also the case."
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was pressed at a White House briefing on the number of millionaires who pay taxes at a lower rate than middle-income families. He demurred, saying that people who make most of their money in wages pay taxes at a higher rate, while those who get most of their income from investments pay at lower rates.
"So it really depends on what is your profession, where's the source of your income, what's the specific circumstances you face, and the averages won't really capture that," Geithner said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama makes it sound as if there are millionaires all over America paying taxes at lower rates than their secretaries.
"Middle-class families shouldn't pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires," Obama said Monday. "That's pretty straightforward. It's hard to argue against that."
The data tell a different story. On average, the wealthiest people in America pay a lot more taxes than the middle class or the poor, according to private and government data. They pay at a higher rate, and as a group, they contribute a much larger share of the overall taxes collected by the federal government.
There may be individual millionaires who pay taxes at rates lower than middle-income workers. In 2009, 1,470 households filed tax returns with incomes above $1 million yet paid no federal income tax, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That, however, was less than 1 percent of the nearly 237,000 returns with incomes above $1 million.
In his White House address Monday, Obama called on Congress to increase taxes by $1.5 trillion as part of a 10-year deficit reduction package totaling more than $3 trillion. He proposed that Congress overhaul the tax code and impose what he called the "Buffett rule," named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
The rule says, "People making more than $1 million a year should not pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than middle-class families pay."
"Warren Buffett's secretary shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett. There is no justification for it," Obama said. "It is wrong that in the United States of America, a teacher or a nurse or a construction worker who earns $50,000 should pay higher tax rates than somebody pulling in $50 million."
Buffett wrote in a recent piece for The New York Times that the tax rate he paid last year was lower than that paid by any of the other 20 people in his office.
This year, households making more than $1 million will pay an average of 29.1 percent of their income in federal taxes, including income taxes and payroll taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.
Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay 15 percent of their income in federal taxes.
Lower-income households will pay less. For example, households making between $40,000 and $50,000 will pay an average of 12.5 percent of their income in federal taxes. Households making between $20,000 and $30,000 will pay 5.7 percent.
The latest IRS figures are a few years older — and limited to federal income taxes — but show much the same thing. In 2009, taxpayers who made $1 million or more paid on average 24.4 percent of their income in federal income taxes, according to the IRS.
Those making $100,000 to $125,000 paid on average 9.9 percent in federal income taxes. Those making $50,000 to $60,000 paid an average of 6.3 percent.
Obama's claim hinges on the fact that, for high-income families and individuals, investment income is often taxed at a lower rate than wages. The top tax rate for dividends and capital gains is 15 percent. The top marginal tax rate for wages is 35 percent, though that is reserved for taxable income above $379,150.
With tax rates that high, why do so many people pay at lower rates? Because the tax code is riddled with more than $1 trillion in deductions, exemptions and credits, and they benefit people at every income level, according to data from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress' official scorekeeper on revenue issues.
The Tax Policy Center estimates that 46 percent of households, mostly low- and medium-income households, will pay no federal income taxes this year. Most, however, will pay other taxes, including Social Security payroll taxes.
"People who are doing quite well and worry about low-income people not paying any taxes bemoan the fact that they get so many tax breaks that they are zeroed out," said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. "People at the bottom of the distribution say, but all of those rich guys are getting bigger tax breaks than we're getting, which is also the case."
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was pressed at a White House briefing on the number of millionaires who pay taxes at a lower rate than middle-income families. He demurred, saying that people who make most of their money in wages pay taxes at a higher rate, while those who get most of their income from investments pay at lower rates.
"So it really depends on what is your profession, where's the source of your income, what's the specific circumstances you face, and the averages won't really capture that," Geithner said.
Beau...great site..
Wow....money money money money
Wow....money money money money
Brice...I will check out the site...
teko...you are right on!
teko...you are right on!
I saw that and yes will be checking it out. Thanks Beau and brice....
Speaking of repubes and the dems, beau turned me onto a site called Legistorm.com. I advise everyone to go there and have a peek around. You will be dumbfounded, I am sure.
Of course they are! No doubt! Do you honestly think one of them would be caught driving my little toyota or eating beans and cornbread on Friday nights? But one thing is clear and that is they better do something to get some jobs in this country or their aint gonna be no middle class. They can analyze that anyways they want to but it doesnt change the outcome or who is paying for it. Agree there! I wonder if their women would be caught dead wearing my 2dolla flip flops or 5 year old shorts. Of course not!
This is not a dem or repub thing...
I have heard the dems talk about this share the wealth stuff....well..I am waiting for them to downsize to living in a house like mine, drive a car like mine, live on the same budget as I do...then I will say "hey they are walking the walk". The dems may point fingers at the rupubs and vice versa, but I guarantee at the end of the day...those poeple are EQUALLY rolling in wealth and EQUALLY parting with NONE of it...
tax all the same....
I have heard the dems talk about this share the wealth stuff....well..I am waiting for them to downsize to living in a house like mine, drive a car like mine, live on the same budget as I do...then I will say "hey they are walking the walk". The dems may point fingers at the rupubs and vice versa, but I guarantee at the end of the day...those poeple are EQUALLY rolling in wealth and EQUALLY parting with NONE of it...
tax all the same....
Here is another link that might interest someone.http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28421.html
All people should pay the same taxes and the loopholes and expenditures need to go away. Flat tax or something equivelent would be fair.
All people should pay the same taxes and the loopholes and expenditures need to go away. Flat tax or something equivelent would be fair.
http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_welfare/real_tax_rates_plummet.php
The link above describes how many of the fortune 500 handle their taxes. I am looking for the link to the one above so you can read it yourself in its entirety.
The link above describes how many of the fortune 500 handle their taxes. I am looking for the link to the one above so you can read it yourself in its entirety.
The Super Rich Storyline
There are three storylines that are pounded home repeatedly by the mainstream media and the Republican Party ideologues.
More than 50% of Americans don’t pay any taxes.
The top 1% pays 38% of all the Federal income taxes.
Increasing the highest tax rate above 35% would destroy jobs and kill small business owners.
The misinformation spewed forth by the super rich, who control the media, politicians, and media message, to disguise their continued looting of the American middle class, is unrelenting. There are 117 million households in the United States with a median household income of $48,000. Data from the Tax Foundation shows that in 2008, the average income for the bottom half of taxpayers was $15,300. The first $9,350 of income is exempt from taxes for singles and $18,700 for married couples. Politicians of both parties also provided credits for children, earned income credits, mortgage tax deductions, property tax deductions, and a myriad of other tax goodie payoffs for votes. When half the households in the country make less than $48,000 per year in income, of course they won’t be paying any Federal income taxes. There are approximately 151 million Americans earning income. Almost 73 million, or 48%, make less than $25,000. As Wall Street enriched billionaires are interviewed by millionaire journalists on CNBC, scorning those who don’t pay their fair share of taxes, they outsource the blue collar jobs of those on the lower income scale to China and India. Without good paying jobs, the middle class uses debt to maintain their American dream, further enriching the billionaire class in a circle of death.
Oh..they hide money offshore here too.
I don't know if it's the same thing in the US as here, but one of the things that always bothers me in Canada is that many of our wealthy sort of "hide" money offshore. Not quite certain how it works, but I know for sure it happens. Mind you, I think your IRS seems to be far more on top of things then our tax service organization. And you have stricter penalties for non payment there, so maybe your wealthy don't get away with quite so much as ours. Do any of you know it that happens there? I'm curious.
It always boils down to one thing.... They are greedy and wasteful and want more to be greedy and wasteful with! WASTE WASTE WASTE... more tax money wont fix a thing...other than their appetite for a moment
So which should be taxed less, Income Tax Or Wage tax???
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