'Bait and Switch' Taxes (Thomas Sowell)

Creators Syndicate ^ | September 4, 2012 | Thomas Sowell

[jazusamo]

We have heard many times from President Barack Obama how he plans to raise taxes on "millionaires and billionaires," but not on the middle class. Apparently, if you don't happen to be a millionaire or billionaire, you don't have to worry.

But the numbers say otherwise — and say so big time.

The actual tax increase plans being proposed by Obama do not start with people who have an income of a million dollars a year. They start with people with incomes of $250,000 and up.

That is more than most people make, but it is far short of a million dollars, and miles away from a billion dollars. How many of the people who stand to get hit with Obama's higher tax rate plan are in fact either millionaires or billionaires?

According to the Internal Revenue Service, there are more than 2,700,000 people who earn $250,000 a year or more — and fewer than one-tenth of them earn a million dollars or more. So more than nine-tenths of the people who would be hit with the higher taxes supposedly aimed at "millionaires and billionaires" are neither.

When businesses advertise one thing and then actually sell something else, that is called "bait and switch" advertising. That is exactly what President Obama is doing with his proposed tax increases on "millionaires and billionaires."

It gets worse when you look at the potential economic consequences of the tax rate increases being proposed. The small proportion of the people targeted for Obama's higher tax rates who are in fact millionaires and billionaires have the least likelihood of actually paying the higher tax rates.

[PA Engineer]

This is the one time I think Dr. Sowell may be mistaken. Obama knows very well what he is doing. Prior to the 2008 election he was being interviewed. The talking head pointed out that raising taxes reduces revenues to the government. Obama’s response was pure evil. He agreed, but stated the tax increase would be “fair” even if revenues were reduced.

[stephenjohnbanker]

” According to the Internal Revenue Service, there are more than 2,700,000 people who earn $250,000 a year or more “

Yeah, and if you taxed all of these people at 100% of incomes over 250,000, it wouldn’t run the government for one day. It is always the middle, and upper middle class who pay, and pay, and pay.