Rush illustrates this on his site. Just do a search on "Taxes" and it's the first article.
The wealthy carry other Americans on their backs and God Bless Them and their success.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com
Posted on 06/17/2007 12:06:52 PM PDT by Graybeard58
Time was taxes were about raising revenues to "provide for the common defense," etc. The telephone tax for the Spanish-American War was an example not only of that principle, but of how once taxes are enshrined, they are difficult to abolish.
The ascension of liberal politics brought a new phenomenon: punitive taxation.
At first, the strategy was used against the rich, but more recently has been wielded against people who do things progressive politicians would rather they not do. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed $8 "congestion tax," to punish commuters who already pay hefty tolls to drive into Manhattan, is a recent example. So are tobacco taxes, and in some jurisdictions, energy and environmental taxes.
By far the favorite of progressive politicians is the millionaires' tax, typically aimed at incomes well below $1 million.
In 1969, Congress passed a millionaires' tax it called the Tax Reform Act to ensure people making more than $200,000 a year paid their "fair share." But a succession of reforms has put the AMT on target to make millionaires out of 39 million "working families" with incomes as low as $50,000 by 2010. Without reform, the 39 million will pay an average of $3,100 more a year.
The new Democratic Congress wants to fix the AMT, but needs the revenues if it is to ramp up spending to pay off the special interests who got them elected. So to fix a broken millionaires' tax, they propose to raise the AMT income threshold to $250,000 and impose a 4.3 percent surcharge on taxes paid by households with incomes exceeding $500,000, thereby subjecting those families to two millionaires' taxes. True to form, the most progressive Democrats want to leave the AMT alone, but still impose the surcharge.
Today, households with incomes exceeding $100,000 comprise 10 percent of taxpayers, but pay 82 percent of all income taxes and 44 percent of payroll taxes.
Sixty million wage-earners, meanwhile, have no tax liability, yet according to the Tax Foundation, the lowest-income families receive nearly $18,000 a year in federal benefits, not including subsidies for public schools and transportation. Now in the name of "responsible tax policy" that "treats people fairly," Democrats want to use the tax code to punish "the rich" even more severely with another millionaires' tax.
Heaven forbid the liberals ever propose making up for revenues lost through AMT reform by eliminating some of the hundreds of billions the government wastes every year or asking some of the 60 million to help carry the load.
Ping to a Republican-American Editorial.
If you want on or off this ping list, let me know.
NIX it!!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Fix the AMT?
Yes - eliminate it altogether.
If through prudent investments, and by following the rules set down in the IRS regulations to the letter, the individual ends up with no net liability on taxes, then that is the reward for playing by the rules.
Don’t like that outcome? Eliminate the whole Internal Revenue Service tax code, substituting a consumption tax in its place.
the lib/dems will fix it.....
they will just raise taxes for all....
except the illegals...
I never understood why it wasn’t fixed by the Republican congress- not the Democrats will use AMT reform to raise taxes on the rich.
Rush illustrates this on his site. Just do a search on "Taxes" and it's the first article.
The wealthy carry other Americans on their backs and God Bless Them and their success.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com
Fear. The GOP thought if they eliminated the AMT, the Democrats would paint it as a tax cut for the rich and would cry about increasing the federal deficit. Of course fear to do what is right is why the GOP in now the minority party.
FairTax now!
Taxes: Can Congress fix the AMT?
7% Flat tax would be my choice. Not that I am against the consumption tax,
just think there may still be too many not paying their share, and relying
on the rich to pay a skewed bigger proportion. Everyone needs to pay some.
Democrats in the majority demands higher tax rates.
Republicans at least cut some tax rates.
When it gets to that point, it's going to be beyond ugly.
Think of it this way; those really wealthy folks that are paying the majority of taxes already have found every conceivable legal loophole available to them as it is...and they STILL pay through the nose.
I'm hardly a 'Nattering Neighbob of Negativity,' but when push comes to shove, I'd quit earning a taxable income if I were them. ;)
We ARE heading down a slippery slope. The number of people "on the dole" these days is staggering. The amount of tax dollars currently directed at Health & Human Services looks like this:
The only thing gaining on that is the Ponzi Scheme known as "Social Security." And it's not even funded in actual dollars!
What we need is an alternative MAXIMUM tax. And I am not joking.
“You will NEVER see a cut in government spending.”
Presidents George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton both cut tens of billions from national defense.
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