Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
70% is crazy, but we can't give tax cuts and tax loop holes to the rich so that Trump and Jared and Ivanka and other millionaires and billionaires don't pay federal income tax. Even if they paid the 35% that the middle class pays it would help.
The middle class doesn't pay 35%. If one describes the middle class as the top 10-25% (annual income: $81,921 to $139,713), they pay an average effective federal income tax rate of 10.71%. The top 25%-50% (annual income: $40,078 to $80,920) pays an annual effective federal income tax rate of 7.81%.
The top 1% (minimum income: $480,804) pays an average effective federal income tax rate of 26.87%
The top 0.1% (minimum income: $2,124,117) pays 27.05%
And that includes the taxes on capital gains.
See the difference? The people you would consider rich are paying, on average, nearly 3 to 3.5 times the effective tax rate the middle class pays.
Last edited by InformedConsent; 01-05-2019 at 01:22 PM..
I haven't paid payroll tax in years, because I haven't been on anyone's payroll. I'm retired. I collect playchecks from SS every month. They are rude and make me pay income tax on 85% of my SS benefits
That doesn't happen unless you're earning additional income that's taxable. That's on you
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,594,858 times
Reputation: 9169
Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell
I assume there would be brackets in between 37% and 70%? Like 45% and 58%? I can't see a 70% bracket affecting anyone but a few CEOs, entertainers, and sports stars. If you really want to normalize tax revenues, tax capital gains like earned income. I have never understood how Americans got sucked into the, "We have more money so we should pay lower taxes," scam.
More recently, I don't understand how piling up $trillions in debt became The American Way.
I remember last year reading a post on here that said only the poor and middle class should have to pay taxes, amd the rich shouldn't have to pay a dime. I couldn't believe what I was reading....
" I haven't paid payroll tax in years, because I haven't been on anyone's payroll. I'm retired. I collect playchecks from SS every month. They are rude and make me pay income tax on 85% of my SS benefits "
I think if you make it this far, paid into SS for 40+ years. With the degradation of the dollar over the decades. You have won the game of life. You shouldnt have to pay any taxes on your SS you receive.
In an upcoming 60 Minutes interview, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) will call for federal income tax rates of up to 70 percent as part of a proposal to create vast new government spending programs.
The last thing the federal government needs is more spending programs.
While that is true, those people only paid 32% to 44% in taxes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220
I guarantee she is proposing a 70% bracket; not a 70% effective rate
You don't know that until you read the actual bill presented to Congress.
Quote:
Originally Posted by michiganmoon
Those existed before he was president and the vast majority of rich people didn't actually pay the highest bracket rate of 91% due to loopholes, tax avoidance, and modern people not understanding how taxes work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by InformedConsent
That's because there were many more tax deductions allowed back then. Nearly all of them have been rescinded.
That's exactly right.
The IRS Tax Code in effect in 1950 is not even remotely comparable to the Tax Code today.
The IRS Tax Code of 1954 made no changes to individual income taxes, rather the changes were targeted at corporations, in particular, banning the practice of coupling life insurance with catastrophic health insurance to prevent Americans from building wealth and passing it on to their children and grandchildren.
The IRS Tax Code of 1986 had major significant changes which eliminated nearly all the deductions previously available.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220
It could be more than 17% if the capital gains tax was tied to income tax
Lower Capital Gains taxes generate more revenues.
It is not logical, and it is counter-intuitive, but it is true as proven by the Congressional Research Office, the Congressional Budget Office and the Ohio State University.
When Italy studied its Capital Gains tax revenues, it found that higher tax rates produce less revenues, while lower tax rates produce higher revenues. As a result, Italy set its rate at 12.5% and saw revenues increase. The optimal rate is in the 9%-10% range, which is what the CRO, CBO and Ohio State concluded.
The percentages on the first bar graph add up to over 100% for the federal taxes- obviously, something is not right.
The first chart is from 2013, while the second is from 2004.
The third discusses PERCENTAGES OF INCOME paid via sales taxes and property taxes. Obviously, given that expenditures on food and household goods will be roughly the same for higher and lower income groups, sales taxes will take a larger percentage "bite" out of lower income households. The only way to change that would be to force grocery stores to give away free food to the lowest 1/4 income groups. In effect, that is already done via payment with foodstamps. So paying "sales tax" with money you get for free anyway is not a very honest representation of taxes paid.
Further, the metric of a house being 3-4X one's income may be true for lower incomes, but not higher incomes. Therefore, property taxes will be relatively higher for the poor (if they own their homes).
Lastly, more wealthy people who own businesses and agricultures (which actually employs people), will have more business deductions. Without those deductions, "the poor" would not have jobs.
Last edited by hawkeye2009; 01-05-2019 at 02:05 PM..
It's pretty easy to deduce that most really wealthy people aren't posting on freaking City-Data, I thought you were smart enough to know that
I know quite a few who post here that are comfortably wealthy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
