How much in taxes do the rich really pay..? (percentage, accountant, deduction)

[harrycrat]

I read various reports on websites,like Forbes, about the taxation of the rich.
So many anti-rich myths on the market ,about loopholes,shelters,etc..
I am interested in real life true stories of persons,or couples ,who are high-earners...

How much was your overall taxation in 2009..?

Overal means

federal income tax,
SS tax,
capital gains tax,
state income tax,
all property taxes,
municipal taxes,
other direct taxes...
If u have a mortgage & other deductions,u may refer them...

If we have any individuals who earned 150K+,or couples at 250K+,
or if they are incorporated,

I would like their comments...

[Ultrarunner]

Additional Info for you:

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly-half-of-US-households-apf-1105567323.html?x=0 - broken link)

[Grandpa Pipes]

We live on my pension (very small) and Social Security and for the last 3 years the IRS said that we figured our taxes wrong ( I use an accountant to figure our taxes) and sent back ALL the income paid in. Net tax for 3 year= zero!

So I have to wonder if anyone who works for the IRS know much about taxes.

[Luke9686]

My theory says the middle class pay the majority of taxes in our country. A few reasons for this. The first reason is the people making laws are either rich, or are at the service of the rich. Lawmakers won't make tax laws that hurt their chances of re-election. IE, they wont make laws that hurt the people who contribute to their campaign, etc. Second reason is the middle class is the largest sect of people in the U.S. This equals a HUGE tax base. Third reason=please see first reason. The political factor runs DEEP when it comes to taxation.

[harrycrat]

That's exactly what I want to find out,to dispell the myths & have real people telling us the truth about their taxes...

The link does not enlighten us,we need specific examples...

Let's hope that some rich will read this thread...

[dspguy]

I didn't know 150+ makes someone "rich." I certainly don't feel that way. While I won't be sharing my tax figures, I will say that I'm paying the appropriate amount as per my tax bracket. I had a few deductions thanks to mortgage interest and the energy efficiency credit.

What I can say is that after my health premium deduction, my takehome is only a few percentage points over 50% of my gross. It is depressing. I think I need to hire the crafty accountants of Arthur Andersen to handle my taxes.

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Additional Info for you:

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly-half-of-US-households-apf-1105567323.html?x=0 - broken link)

According to that article, the top 10% of incomes pay 73% of all Federal income tax. The 50% who don't pay are the poorer 50%.

In fact "The bottom 40 percent, on average, make a profit from the federal income tax, meaning they get more money in tax credits than they would otherwise owe in taxes. For those people, the government sends them a payment."

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

My theory says the middle class pay the majority of taxes in our country. A few reasons for this. The first reason is the people making laws are either rich, or are at the service of the rich. Lawmakers won't make tax laws that hurt their chances of re-election. IE, they wont make laws that hurt the people who contribute to their campaign, etc. Second reason is the middle class is the largest sect of people in the U.S. This equals a HUGE tax base. Third reason=please see first reason. The political factor runs DEEP when it comes to taxation.

Unfortunately, the facts rather disprove your theory.

Top 10% pay 73% of tax. Bottom 40% get money back.

[k374]

The rich don't pay a lot in taxes (as a percentage of their income). They just write everything off as an expense and avoid taxes. They also use other fraudulent ways to avoid taxes... wasn't Timothy Geithner himself accused of tax evasion? LOL

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by k374

The rich don't pay a lot in taxes (as a percentage of their income). They just write everything off as an expense and avoid taxes. They also use other fraudulent ways to avoid taxes... wasn't Timothy Geithner himself accused of tax evasion? LOL

Legitimate Expenses are legitimate... many of the write offs are income dependant... I know people that are not eligible for Child Care Tax Credit because the make too much... same for many other breaks... the Alternative Minimum Tax is the reason.

A person can have all the legitimate deductions and then get hit with the AMT..

Fraud is fraud and is a crime... Tax Evasion is always a crime.

Many have wanted to go to a national sales tax or flat income tax for the vary reasons you state... it would eliminate many of the write-offs and deductions.

People I work with bought homes so they could also get the "Big Mortgage Write-Off" lots have lost their homes and some are facing tax bills on the difference between what they owed and what the property ultimately sold for.