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Your second quote is not from me. Don't present it to make it look like it was.
At least, I took the trouble to think of something to say to the readers and to write it. Apparently beyond the intellectual capacity and/or energy level of some people whose communications capacity is limited to making a multiple choice from a panel of emoticons.
Your second quote is not from me. Don't present it to make it look like it was.
At least, I took the trouble to think of something to say to the readers and to write it. Apparently beyond the intellectual capacity and/or energy level of some people whose communications capacity is limited to making a multiple choice from a panel of emoticons.
It wasn't presented to look like it was from you. Everyone knows who said that. I simply included it to point out the similarity.
Nobody bothered to look at the link I sent. I actually made errors in the calculations (I used the wrong columns).
Here is the correction:
Those making over $200k:
-Represent 5% of all those w/ taxable income
-Paid 53% of all federal income tax ($530B out of $1.04T collected)
-Paid $530B in income tax against $2T income (26% effective rate)
Those making $1 to $30k:
-Represent 25.5% of all those w/ taxable income
-Paid 2% of all federal income tax ($21B out of $1.04T)
-Paid $21.2B in income tax against $200B income (10.6% effective rate)
And we haven't included the millions who had no taxable income and thus paid nothing.. or it'd be even more lopsided.
How much of the income for the country does the 5% make? Your statistics are woefully one sided and fail to look at the whole picture.
You also have to take into account how much of the income they take.
Why the obsession with the income tax? Why not look at the many other taxes people pay? Could it be because the income tax is the only progressive tax we have and the rich apologists want to skew perceptions? Non-rich people get soaked by FICA, sales taxes, and property taxes that are a much smaller concern to the wealthy. The well to do also use, by far, the most services. Large businesses use roads and police protection and all the rest extensively. And their literate workforce didn't educate themselves. All of that came from the taxes everybody pays. Also, capital gains have not already been taxed. An investor only pays the tax on the gain, not the original investment. That's why it's called a capital gain tax.
People with income over $200k represent only 3% of all tax payers but they paid 29% of all federal income tax.
Then there's the free-loader bunch: Those under $30k income made up 48% of filers but paid 9.2% of all income tax.
Basically, the top 13% pay 52% of all income tax
Facts are facts.
1. What share of the income do the top 3% of tax payers bring in?
2. What share of state and local taxes do the top 3% pay as a percentage of their income?
And, those stocks are purchased with money that has already been taxed. How are you supposed to save and invest if you can't make anything because of capital gains taxes? Kills me that the max we can save in 401k is $17,500 per year.
When you buy a TV and pay sales tax you pay it with money that has already been taxed.
When you pay property tax it's paid with money that has already been taxed.
When you pay for license plates you pay with money that has already been taxed.
What is your point?
Further, you pay taxes on dividends and capital gains. You are not taxed at all on the money that you invest, only the new money earned from your investment. If you buy $1,000 worth of stock at $20 a share with "already taxed" money and the stock finishes the year at $20 a share, you pay zero tax on that investment. If you lose money, you can use that to offset some of your income taxes.
Now, if you had argued that capital gains and dividends should be taxed at a lower rate because the corporation whose stock you own has already paid corporate taxes out of their profits, then you would have a point.
There's a very simple, age-old, answer to the OP's question.
Quote:
Luke 21:1-4
New International Version (NIV)
The Widow’s Offering
21 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Why the obsession with the income tax? Why not look at the many other taxes people pay? Could it be because the income tax is the only progressive tax we have and the rich apologists want to skew perceptions? Non-rich people get soaked by FICA, sales taxes, and property taxes that are a much smaller concern to the wealthy. The well to do also use, by far, the most services. Large businesses use roads and police protection and all the rest extensively. And their literate workforce didn't educate themselves. All of that came from the taxes everybody pays. Also, capital gains have not already been taxed. An investor only pays the tax on the gain, not the original investment. That's why it's called a capital gain tax.
You know who else pays FICA,sales property ect et taxes? Yes the Rich and again pay more than the the wage slaves do.
Now, if you had argued that capital gains and dividends should be taxed at a lower rate because the corporation whose stock you own has already paid corporate taxes out of their profits, then you would have a point.
It should be noted that this is the real reason those taxes are lower.
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