Posted on 09/20/2011 3:40:21 PM PDT by Qbert
This week, President Obama announced a new way for the government to make more money: put a floor on the tax rates that millionaires face. He coined the idea the "Buffett Rule,"...
[Snip]
So how much would the so-called Buffett Rule bring in? It's hard to say, because Obama didn't define precisely how it would work. But he did say it would create a tax rate floor for those who make more than $1 million per year. So let's use 2009 tax return data from the IRS to imagine some possible scenarios for how much additional tax revenue the new tax could bring in. Here's a chart:
Let me explain what's going on here. I used IRS data for 2009* adjusted gross income (which I know isn't perfect, but it was the best they had). I then calculated the effective tax rate based on its data to be 29.1% for all Americans who earned more than $1 million. I consequently took the total income of the group and multiplied by different tax rates (as shown). I subtracted the taxes already paid (at the 29.1% effective rate) to figure out how much additional revenue they'd provide to the U.S. government at those new tax floors.
As you can see, the short answer is: some, but not enough to make a dent in the deficit. If you put a floor at their current marginal tax rate of 35%, the government would obtain $37 billion more dollars. That might sound like a lot, but it amounts to just 2.5% of the 2009 $1.5 trillion deficit (which is the red line shown). If you increase the floor to the pre-Bush-tax-cut marginal rate of 39.6%, the additional revenue grows a bit -- to $66 billion, or 4.5% of the year's deficit.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Many people imagine federal income tax constitutes the greater part of the tax burden in this country.
Still, as large as it is, federal income tax is less than half.
But is would be “fair”. Bambi has actually said that before.
"Fairness" is code for "get Whitey."
Interesting chart.
Now see how much additional revenue would be brought in by having everyone pay at least 10% (current bottom tax rate). It would bring in more money. Sad thing is, the same condition is true. It would not be enough.
What is needed is a substantial reset of federal spending.
This economy has had all the buffeting it can take.
What is needed is a substantial reset of federal spending.
Hardly any gain in value, because taxes were so high nobody could afford to sell any stocks.
Dow 1940 151.43 1980 824.57 .
Dow now over 11500? Capital Gains tax
Bump
The GOP should just pass the bill only on people in the Gates and Buffett income range. They want it, they can pay more. The the other 310,000,098 people can proceed as usual. Set the rate at 90% for these two.
If the likes of Buffet and the Democratic leadership would pay the taxes they already owe, perhaps they would have some credibility on the issue and our money problem would be one step closer to being solved. Flaming hypocrites.
As of 2006, eliminating the EITC would gain the Feds $46 billion.
Probably not ~ most of the folks on EITC would simply quit their low paying part time jobs and go on welfare. You would end up paying much more.
Dow 1940 151.43 1980 824.57 .
Dow now over 11500?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.