Posted on 04/13/2012 5:29:46 PM PDT by NaturalBornConservative
By: Larry Walker, Jr.
There's no way Obama's secretary paid a higher effective tax rate than the Obamas. You don't believe it? Are income taxes such a mystery that we can't find out? Well, let's run the numbers and see.
According to Jake Tapper of ABC News, Mr. Obama released his 2011 federal income tax today, with he and his wife reporting an adjusted gross income of $789,674. The Obamas paid $162,074 in total tax – an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5%.
The White House also reported that President Obama’s secretary, Anita Decker Breckenridge, makes $95,000 a year. White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage told ABC News that Breckenridge “pays a slightly higher rate this year on her substantially lower income, which is exactly why we need to reform our tax code and ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share.”
The only problem with this story is that Amy Brundage doesn't know how to compute a tax return, or an effective tax rate. If Ms. Breckenridge were single, made wages of $95,000, and had no other dependents or deductions, her standard deduction would have been $5,800 and her personal exemption $3,700. So taking Ms. Breckenridge's income of $95,000, and subtracting her deductions of $9,500 results in taxable income of $85,500 and an income tax of $17,564 (click the tax return image below to enlarge). Thus, her effective tax rate is 18.4% (17,564 / 95,000). The last time I checked 18.4% was less than, not greater than 20.5%.
Is the Obama Administration so delusional that it believes the American public doesn't understand basic math? Get a clue! In my opinion we're all paying way too much for the incompetence of this government. The mainstream media should be ashamed for not verifying the numbers. And Obama's definitely on the wrong track, one which will fortunately lead to the end of his short and sorry career. That suits me fine.
The Obama’s probably have a lot more unreported income going straight from donors to the Caymans (or some muslim country) and that’s what the WH based its figures on.
The federal personal income tax system has failed. Time to abolish it.
Where's the problem?? Not the taxes....IT'S THAT SHE DIDN'T MAKE $790,000 !!!!!!!!!!!
Is the Obama Administration so delusional that it believes the American public doesn’t understand basic math?
YES, they are. What makes me so mad is that so called news agencies run with this BS without doing what you did.
I really think nobama hasn’t paid for one thing in his complete worthless corroding life...anything (even his admitted crack). nobama (and the “Worst” Lady, mooch-elle) are the ultimte moving-on-up, equal-opportunity, affirmative-action grifters. How pathetic.
Rear end of the original Baraq BUMP
If she’s married, has dependents, owns a home, gives to charity, or pays a substantial amount in State taxes, she could itemize her deductions using Schedule A, which would make her effective tax rate substantially less than the 18.4% I calculated here. What I am showing is her maximum possible effective tax rate.
Wait..the purple lipped prince made $800k...she made $95k...is he not supposed to give her approx $500k????
You’re funny....Obomba won’t even give his half brother who lives on something like $100 per YEAR any money....
“Obomba won’t even give his half brother who lives on something like $100 per YEAR any money....”
The simplest answer is that the guy isn’t 0bama’s relative, you know? Nor the ‘aunt,’ ‘uncle,’ etc.
Ubama is a shameless, lying, piece of dog sh** and America will flush that turd down the toilet of history in November.
Hey, I’m jes’ sayin...
Yes, he won’t take care of his own step brother, but didn’t the college where the Mrs.’s brother coaches basketball, receive 17million in stimulus money?
Absolutely.
His political base does not. Otherwise their heads would explode, if they understood the implications of 16 trillion$ in debt.
You’re right ... unless they included her payroll tax of $7K, which the left usually does.
It is their usual tactic when asked about 50% of the people paying zero taxes.
Just as the budget is quoted as $3.5T because they combine SSM with general budget items (even though they are funded by a separate payroll tax), they like to include all taxes a person paid, sometimes even adding in local sales taxes or whatever they need to make it look like those 50% are not freeloaders.
Yep...right here in Oregon State...
If there was nothing to hide, they would have released the secretary’s return as well. Her State income tax deduction alone would have been enough to itemize (to beat the $5,800 standard deduction). Throw in some charitable gifts, possibly a mortgage, ad valorem, and real estate taxes, and her effective rate quickly fizzles to the national average of 8% to 13%.
That’s my point — the left includes all those local taxes and Payroll Taxes when they talk about the “effective tax rate” the secretaries of the world pay. Not as deductions that made her Federal Income Tax rate lower, but as part of the total taxes they paid.
They disingenously only show the Federal Income Tax return for high earners, but if pressed for an explanation to questions like yours, they will admit they included all the other taxes she paid to inflate her number even though it has nothing to do with the Federal Income Tax rate the Buffet Rule would affect.
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