Stop coddling the super-rich, Warren Buffett says

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

BS.

Here are "the rich":

Top 1% share of income: 20%

Top 1% share of income taxes: 38%

Top 5% share of income: 34.73%

Top 5% share of income taxes: 58.72%

Top 10% share of income: 45.77%

Top 10% share of income taxes: 69.94%

See, the top 10 are paying almost 70 percent of all income tax revenue, even though their share of income is only 45 percent!

And here are your "working stiffs":

Bottom 50% share of income: 12.75%

Thats the thing what is is rich? Top 1%? Sure. Top 5%? well depends where you live Top 10% - ok your clearly in middle class here.

Bottom 50% share of income taxes: 2.70%

25-50% share of income: 19.86%

25-50% share of income taxes: 10.96%

10-25% share of income: 21.62%

10-25% share of income taxes: 16.40%

Which group are you in?

source

It depends - I'd say the 1% are rich. The 5% might be depending on where you live, and the 10% is cutting into the middle class. So if you exclude the 1% and say everyone between 5 and 50% is middle class then middle class pays the most....especially when you add in local and state taxes.

Edited August 15, 2011 by Sousuke

[mawilson 2,133]

It bears repeating from the article that I posted earlier.

You can keep repeating it ad nauseum, it's still a falsehood.

[_Simpson_ 250]

I am not talking about the poor. The middle class pays the brunt and the topic is about the rich not paying their fair share.

That is the problem, you're not talking about the poor, the rich are easier to hate on I get it but whats fair about taxing rich people disproportionately?

And start coddling the rich, oh wait, we're already doing that.

We're not coddling the rich. They hire accountants that know the tax system. I know its easier to hate the rich but come on the "poor" need to start paying their fare share.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

To avoid taxes.

So lets tax them more and make moving overseas more attractive to additional businesses. You believe the problem with taxes is that there is not enough of them?

Cut to the chase and just tax 100% of all income for anyone above $100,000 per family. That's plenty for anyone. That will fix everything.

Don't be silly. Tax breaks reward the incompetent. The executives who just can't cut it. They can't survive a real economy so they have to outsource and resort to other chicanery to hold onto their jobs.

From the article that I posted before:

Some corporate tax breaks destroy jobs.

Despite all the noise that America has the world's second highest corporate tax rate, the actual taxes paid by corporations are falling because of the growing number of loopholes and companies shifting profits to tax havens like the Cayman Islands.

And right now, America's corporations are sitting on close to $2 trillion in cash that is not being used to build factories, create jobs or anything else, but act as an insurance policy for managers unwilling to take the risk of actually building the businesses they are paid so well to run. That cash hoard, by the way, works out to nearly $13,000 per taxpaying household.

A corporate tax rate that is too low actually destroys jobs. That's because a higher tax rate encourages businesses (who don't want to pay taxes) to keep the profits in the business and reinvest, rather than pull them out as profits and have to pay high taxes.

The 2004 American Jobs Creation Act, which passed with bipartisan support, allowed more than 800 companies to bring profits that were untaxed but overseas back to the United States. Instead of paying the usual 35 percent tax, the companies paid just 5.25 percent.

The companies said bringing the money home -- "repatriating" it, they called it -- would mean lots of jobs. Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican, put the figure at 660,000 new jobs.

Pfizer, the drug company, was the biggest beneficiary. It brought home $37 billion, saving $11 billion in taxes. Almost immediately, it started firing people. Since the law took effect, it has let 40,000 workers go. In all, it appears that at least 100,000 jobs were destroyed.

Now Congressional Republicans and some Democrats are gearing up again to pass another tax holiday, promoting a new Jobs Creation Act. It would affect 10 times as much money as the 2004 law.

[sly_wolf 199]

You kinda scare me, I'm just glad that I had an extra pair of underwear on hand.

Just wait until they are through with me. No fancy benefits either. Let them pay for their own Healthcare too ... like the rest of us.

and thats how I would start making government smaller

Edited August 15, 2011 by sly_wolf

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

That is the problem, you're not talking about the poor, the rich are easier to hate on I get it but whats fair about taxing rich people disproportionately?

We're not coddling the rich. They hire accountants that know the tax system. I know its easier to hate the rich but come on the "poor" need to start paying their fare share.

That's a distinction without a difference.

[mawilson 2,133]

Thats the thing what is is rich? Top 1%? Sure. Top 5%? well depends where you live Top 10% - ok your clearly in middle class here.

The numbers I quoted for Top 10% are cumulative - i.e. they include Top 1%, 1-5% and 5-10%.

The numbers for Top 10% who are not in Top 5% or Top 1% (5-10%) are 11.03% (share of income) and 11.22% (share of taxes) respectively. Quite fair, actually.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

It depends - I'd say the 1% are rich. The 5% might be depending on where you live, and the 10% is cutting into the middle class. So if you exclude the 1% and say everyone between 5 and 50% is middle class then middle class pays the most....especially when you add in local and state taxes.

FAIR TAX works for all.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

You can keep repeating it ad nauseum, it's still a falsehood.

Keep living the big lie, it's easier to swallow than the truth.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The numbers I quoted for Top 10% are cumulative - i.e. they include Top 1%, 1-5% and 5-10%.

The numbers for Top 10% who are not in Top 5% or Top 1% (5-10%) are 11.03% (share of income) and 11.22% (share of taxes) respectively. Quite fair, actually.

Try to remember who you are dealing with, they do not necessarily realize that the top 10% would include the top 5% or top 1%, they think they are separate and maybe of a different race or nationality. But whatever, they are not paying their fair share...so go from there...carry on with your explanation.

Good luck.

[mawilson 2,133]

So if you exclude the 1% and say everyone between 5 and 50% is middle class then middle class pays the most....

If you exclude the top 1% and say everyone between 5 and 50% is middle class, the numbers are as follows:

5-10% 11.03% 11.22%

10-25% 21.62% 16.40%

25-50% 19.86% 10.96%

The group's share of income is 52.51%, share of taxes - 38.58%.

So no, they don't pay the most.

The income split point for Top 5% is $159,619.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Just wait until they are through with me. No fancy benefits either. Let them pay for their own Healthcare too ... like the rest of us.

and thats how I would start making government smaller

By getting government out of healthcare?

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

FAIR TAX works for all.

Any system that has a "consumption allowance" sounds commie to me.

[sly_wolf 199]

By getting government out of healthcare?

No, by saving dollars with no free healthcare for anyone in congress. I would have them all crying like #######.

[mawilson 2,133]

No, by saving dollars with no free healthcare for anyone in congress. I would have them all crying like #######.

Still think the middle class is paying the most taxes, wolfie?

How about you, Mumsie?