Filed under: Economy, Liberalism, Politics | Tags: Bad Ideas, Democrat Demagogues, Taxes
During the presidential election campaign, some voters were startled to hear for the first time that at least a third of Americans pay no income taxes whatsoever.
The Tax Foundation notes that in 2006, 45,600,000 tax filers paid no income tax at all. Under today’s law, in 2009 47.000,000 (representing probably 96 million individuals) will pay no income tax.
The Foundation maintains that under Obama’s plan 63,000,000 filers will pay no taxes or 44% of all returns. So pretty close to 1/2 of Americans will pay the taxes for the other half as well as themselves.
Obama said repeatedly that 95% of Americans would get a tax cut under his plan. Economist Alan Reynolds, when asked where they got that figure, said simply “They made it up.”
In 2006, IRS figures show that the top 10% of all filers ($109,000 and over) paid 71% of all taxes.
I’m inclined to think that everyone should pay some taxes, and participate in our society. No matter how compassionate you feel towards those who make less in our society, it is not healthy for only a handful of people to pay the taxes for the rest of us.
Now a new report from the OECD that our taxes are the most progressive in the world — we already collect the most from the wealthiest 10% and extract the most compared to their share of the country’s income.
Will Obama continue with his plans to tax the top earners still more? Most economists are suggesting that the current crisis is not a time to raise taxes — any taxes. Yet he seems to be determined to go after those he categorizes as “the rich.”
