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Millionaires Don't Pay Taxes? 1,470 of America's Richest Didn't, According to IRS
L.A. Weekly ^ | Aug. 8 2011 | Dennis Romero

Posted on 08/11/2011 10:28:50 PM PDT by americanophile

Southern California has more millionaires than just about anywhere else in the nation, with L.A. coming in at No. 1, Orange County at No. 4, and San Diego ranking No. 6 in cities with the most seven-figure-plus households in 2008.

So maybe we should feel a little guilty, especially as President Obama and the GOP are headed toward draconian federal cuts, the United States' credit rating is down a notch, and the stock market is diving like a conservative congressman in a bathroom stall.

Because many millionaires and billionaires, it was revealed today, don't pay taxes like you and me:

In fact, many don't pay taxes at all. Now, those familiar with the Mack-truck sized loopholes written into the tax code (example: the wealthy who make their money off capital gains only pay a 15 percent tax rate, if that) shouldn't be surprised.

According to a recently released IRS report (PDF), 1,470 millionaires and billionaires paid zero taxes in 2009.

The report states that donations to charity, investment in government bonds, and taking cash from overseas operations has resulted in a legit, $0-tax bill for these high rollers.

Of course, some Democrats in congress have been trying to eliminate tax loopholes and discounts as part of the debt ceiling debate. But while Republicans are gung-ho to cut federal largess in the name of a solvent Republic, they've been quick to protect those who live largest.

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.laweekly.com ...


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: classwarfare; millionaires; taxes; taxloopholes; wealthy
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This is illustrative of the kind of class warfare/"the fix is in" propaganda that those on the left are spoonfed morning, noon and night. It has over 800 diggs on digg.com. I'll bet nearly every conservative here, and in congress, wants the entire tax code thrown out and replaced with a fair or flat tax; something that would eliminate this, and other types of seemingly inequitable burdens, but literally millions of people believe that we're the party of the rich and defend this result. We are being crucified on the progressive tax code constructed by the Democrats. We are not winning this argument.
1 posted on 08/11/2011 10:28:57 PM PDT by americanophile
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To: americanophile

If we went to a flat tax then they wouldn’t have any loopholes to slip through. Do you think this lefty would support that idea? Did’t think so.


2 posted on 08/11/2011 10:30:57 PM PDT by Patrick1 ("The problem with Internet quotations is that many are not genuine." - Abraham Lincoln)
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To: americanophile
don't pay taxes like you and me:

Yeah. I'll bet this jackass pays taxes. He probably gets the Earned Income Tax Credit.

3 posted on 08/11/2011 10:31:15 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Americans need to wean their government off of its dependence on foreign money.)
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To: americanophile

Manipulative reporting. It is based on income taxes... of course, if you earn your living from capital gains, you don’t have income taxes- a complete different game.. the other party is the realization how tiny of a percent of taxpayers this is. ~1500 out of ~300,000,000..


4 posted on 08/11/2011 10:31:23 PM PDT by mnehring
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To: mnehring

You’re right on both observations, but we lose nonetheless.


5 posted on 08/11/2011 10:33:23 PM PDT by americanophile ("this absurd theology of an immoral Bedouin, is a rotting corpse which poisons our lives" - Ataturk)
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To: mnehring

I guess this asshat never heard of the AMT.


6 posted on 08/11/2011 10:33:37 PM PDT by Mouton (Voting is an opiate of the electorate. Nothing changes no matter who wins..)
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To: americanophile

Did they follow the rules on their deductions, or not?
If they didn’t they should get attention from the IRS.
If they did, a salud. They paid their fair share.
I don’t begrudge them a single dollar they don’t pay to the Feds..


7 posted on 08/11/2011 10:34:01 PM PDT by RitchieAprile
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To: americanophile

How many of these people are making their money through businesses they started........where they pay taxes through the nose?

Selective reporting.


8 posted on 08/11/2011 10:35:02 PM PDT by Psycho_Bunny (Public employee unions are the barbarian hordes of our time.)
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To: americanophile

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/tax/article1996735.ece


9 posted on 08/11/2011 10:36:41 PM PDT by bigheadfred ("I consulted all the sages I could find in yellow pages but there aren't many of them")
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To: Patrick1

Agreed, flat tax needed, everybody pays in direct proportion to their gain. Tax due equally on ALL income, no loopholes.

It will never happen. Political hacks would lose their power to reward trinkets in exchange for political funding favors.


10 posted on 08/11/2011 10:36:41 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Half the people are below average.)
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To: americanophile

So let me get this straight.

There are 1,470 “millionaires and billionaires” who pay no federal income tax. The Democrats, and some Republicans, claim that they need to start “paying their fair share”.

Then there are another 75,000,000 people who also pay no federal tax and many of them don’t even pay payroll tax as they get it back in EITC.

Frankly, I think it’s about damn time to start taxing those 75,000,000.


11 posted on 08/11/2011 10:48:50 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici ("Si, se gimme!")
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To: Sequoyah101

Wouldn’t vote for a flat tax unless at the same time you have to get rid of the 16th amendment. Or we would end up with a flat tax and an income tax.....


12 posted on 08/11/2011 10:51:32 PM PDT by goat granny
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To: americanophile
Why do we let people get away with talking about taxes on the rich vs taxes on the poor, when we do not tax people based on their wealth?

As long as we tax people on their income, it will always be asinine to talk about how the "rich" are not paying their fair share, and it is not hard to explain that.

Is it?
13 posted on 08/11/2011 10:53:20 PM PDT by andyk (Income != Wealth)
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To: americanophile

Quick someone alert the indignant rich people to guffaw over this thread.


14 posted on 08/11/2011 10:53:29 PM PDT by Tempest (Ruining the day of corporate butt kissers everywhere.)
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To: VeniVidiVici

And many of those 75 million are in the negative as they get refunds and tax credits and welfare.


15 posted on 08/11/2011 11:00:41 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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To: americanophile

It’s a lie I tell yah they pay as much as GE and tim geithner does...

all propoganda... don’t believe it.. please...

We should have a flat tax because it’s immoral for the guy that needs to support 3 mistresses a crack habit and a yacht to pay a higher percentage than the disabled vet on the other side of town.

Paris Hilton agrees.


16 posted on 08/11/2011 11:00:49 PM PDT by Tempest (Ruining the day of corporate butt kissers everywhere.)
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To: americanophile

“The report states that donations to charity, investment in government bonds, and taking cash from overseas operations has resulted in a legit, $0-tax bill for these high rollers.”

1. Ok, Rich people don’t donate to charities anymore. I know that some of these Charities they are talking about are
a. The Seria Club....etc..
and some of the people on the list are:
a. Al Gore...

2. cash from overseas operations ... only tax free if the taxes were higher in the originating country or the cash is never repatriated and is maintained in a shelter overseas. Folks, they never brought it back to this country to begin with so it isn’t available to tax.

3. Government Bonds, ok tax um. of course no one is going to buy Government Bonds with such a low return when you get taxed on them. Hey, but it is the Democrats idea, they want to fix that deficit problem, lets let them!

LOL!


17 posted on 08/11/2011 11:02:18 PM PDT by dila813
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To: Mouton

AMT only applies to Income, that would affect people that had income and too much of it was given to charities etc..

Many of these rich people just don’t have any income, they have a million or more in assets but no income.

If you win the lottery and you took the lump sum, the first year you would get taxes from hell but every year after that you would be a millionaire not paying income taxes. You simply would have no income and you already previously paid your income tax.


18 posted on 08/11/2011 11:06:04 PM PDT by dila813
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To: Tempest

...guffaw.....t/y


19 posted on 08/11/2011 11:20:52 PM PDT by Tainan (Cogito, Ergo Conservitus.)
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To: americanophile

1,470 millionaires. If we take a million from each of them it is 1,470,000,000 or $1.47 billion. That ought to pay for our deficit for about a couple hours.


20 posted on 08/11/2011 11:25:31 PM PDT by DaxtonBrown (HARRY: Money Mob & Influence (See my Expose on Reid on amazon.com written by me!))
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