Posted on 04/14/2002 2:17:00 PM PDT by PsyOp
Except their hot-air contributions to global warming a.k.a. speaking engagements.
The auditor must have been a democRat
That may be the IRS's view, but certainly not mine. Glad you liked the post.
Really? Then why'd you do it? Just couldn't help yourself, could ya...?
President Clinton yesterday recast his proposed USA (government subsidized) retirement accounts as a $500 billion-plus "tax-cut" to neutralize Republican calls for an across-the-board tax rebate.
Referring to the USA retirement accounts, he said he wants to make it possible, "through the tax cut, to help Americans save for the future." - Bill Clinton, February 18, 1999.
"I was worried that with the tax cut we wouldn't have enough money to repair New York and D.C. and to help the families of the thousands I knew must have died," - Chelsea Clinton, December 2001 issue of Talk Magazine.
''There's not enough money to do anything,'' Sen. Hillary Clinton said May 31, 2001 , warning that most people don't understand that Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut - can't fund solutions for issues like a national energy supply, public education and economic revitalization.
Or some variation of the theme.
IMHO, however, there is a connection between what you say and those figures, though it is not directly proportional. Most of those in that top 50%, as well as some in the lower half, do complain about the taxes being too high, too complicated, or otherwise unfair.
If they did as you suggest, then things might start moving in the right direction.
LOL! That is sooo precious! You can tell she studied economics at Berserkly!
"The top 1 percent of income earners (adjusted gross incomes above $293,413) paid 36.2% of all federal personal income taxes."
I thought that you might like to know the source of that data. It is compiled every year by the Tax Foundation. It is always two years behind, because the IRS takes that long to release the raw data. The complete table, shows who pays what amount of taxes by percentage and dollar amount and also indicates income level in dollars. It is very interesting. The complete data table for 1999 is located here.
I have been tracking the Tax Foundation data every year for some time and the interesting point that I have observed is that every year, while the top earners pay progressively more of the tax load, in proportion to their share of total income, Forbes data collected over the same time period shows progressively fewer billionaires in the US. This becomes even more telling, when you consider that during that same time period, the number of billionaires worldwide has increased steadily. This just adds to the growing amount of data indicating that the wealthy are taking the only option left to them by the US government - they are leaving. This, of course, reduces the tax base accordingly. Guess who gets to make up the difference.
Now we see the implementation of the (grossly misnamed) US Patriot Act, that is a direct attack on those who too efficiently use the deductions and exclusions, allowed in the tax code, to avoid (not evade) unnecessary taxes. What effect do you think this will have on the wealthy, who pay the lion's share of the taxes. That's right. You can expect many more to leave within the next 12 to 24 months, as they get their money moved offshore. That will translate into more lost tax base. Guess who gets to make up the difference.
Take a look at that table and play with the numbers. It's really scary.
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