150 million citizens filed tax returns. 50.2 million of thos paid ZERO taxes (cost, party)

[Ralph_N_1962]

Originally Posted by EddieB.Good

Then go live in a cave. The country was founded on the existence of a Federal gov't.

Come out of yours.

Yes, a much smaller one. The country was founded on governance by states.

[rebeldor]

Originally Posted by EddieB.Good

Then go live in a cave. The country was founded on the existence of a Federal gov't.

No it wasn't. The Articles of Confederation spelled that out.

The Constitution was a usurpation of power from the individual to the State and was the first American coup.

[Hesychios]

... 50.2 million of thos paid ZERO taxes


I have never been in that position. Never rich enough nor poor enough.

[rebeldor]

Originally Posted by ottomobeale

Redefining theft and repeating it 50 times a day still does not make it true.

What redefining?

If something that belongs to someone is taken by someone else without their consent it is by definition theft.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by j7r6s

I'd guess if you could break the numbers down, a large percentage of them not only paid zero, they got a "refund" greater than what they paid in.

Refundable Tax Credits

The Ford Administration created the EITC in 1975 to offset Payroll Taxes paid by low income earners. It was initially envisioned a a temporary refundable tax credit. The Reagan Admin substantially expanded the credit in 1986. Regan seemed to have taken great pride in doing so.

Both initiatives had and continue to have strong bipartisan support.

In 2017, Trump doubled the refundable Child Tax Credit.

While I don’t believe most people procreate for tax credits or welfare benefits, such credits reward people, especially single people, for having children, especially low income people.

States with the highest percentage of Federal EITC filers:

Mississippi- 33%

Louisiana- 27%

Alabama- 26%

Arkansas- 26%

States with the lowest percentage of Federal EITC filers:

New Hampshire- 12%

Connecticut- 13%

Massachusetts- 13%

North Dakota- 13%

[InformedConsent]

Originally Posted by Ralph_N_1962

Come out of yours.

Yes, a much smaller one. The country was founded on governance by states.

Exactly so. The Federal Government was supposed to be severely limited, by design. The Constitution enumerates exactly what the Federal Government has the authority to do in Article 1 Section 8. The Fed Gov has been SEVERELY overstepping its authority for decades.

[pennyone]

Originally Posted by rebeldor

“Taxation is theft, purely and simply even though it is theft on a grand and colossal scale which no acknowledged criminals could hope to match. It is a compulsory seizure of the property of the State’s inhabitants, or subjects.”

I hope you don't drive or use any publically funded amenities....because taxes pay for roads, police, street lights signs etc etc etc.

[EddieB.Good]

Originally Posted by InformedConsent

I'm not buying it. EVERYONE in European countries pays the 20%-25% VAT tax. If the European poor can afford to pay, so can the poor in the US.

And poor people pay sales tax and payroll taxes. We're talking about Fed income tax.

[bcgr]

No one in the US pays a national sales tax. Europeans do.

I'm well aware of that, but almost every state has sales taxes and there are national excise taxes. My point was what the VAT has to do with federal income taxes?

Implement a 25% national VAT tax in the US. That way, many more people actually get closer to paying their fair share.

What "fair share?" How does one define "fair share?" Who defines it? Who benefits?

So does everyone else.

Nope, payroll taxes only apply to earned income, and even then are partially capped the more you make. Many states have no income taxes.

That doesn't let you off the hook for your "social contract" responsibility to help fund Fed Gov. Time for you to pay federal income tax, too.

I never signed any "contract" with the government. I already pay to help fund the Federal goverment, just not through income taxes.

[craigiri]

Are we celebrating a trillion dollar deficit in this thread?