It is tax season and just read an article that upsets me a lot. Cannot talk intelligently as many of you can about this, but I DO know we have a deficit problem....a few things from the article that are somewhat annoying..

....47% of the households in USA will pay NO income tax

....credits for low- and middle-income families have grown so much that a family of four making as much as $50,000 will owe no federal income tax for 2009, as long as there are two children younger than 17.

....Much has been said about the tax cuts for the "wealthy" yet nobody talks about the tax cuts made by Obama using the "stimulus" bill which benefited only low and middle income folks.

....The top 10% of earners paid 73% of the tax

....Because of tax credits, etc. the bottom 40% make a profit meaning that their credits are more than income tax and they get a check from the government.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly....html?x=0&.v=1

Now, I openly admit to not being that smart, but something tells me that some things need to be changed in this country. When 40% of tax filers are using it as income from a government that is just about broke....maybe we should take another look at this.

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/...e-tax-in-2009/ perhaps a change here might help

Originally Posted by waynet

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/...e-tax-in-2009/ perhaps a change here might help

Capitalism is not our problem. Government is our problem. Too much of it.

The possibility of a Value Added Tax is being thrown around. This is a consumption tax. The Fair Tax is a consumption tax, but it is in place of the income tax. The VAT is in addition to the income tax. When will it stop??

Originally Posted by Sally Jo

The possibility of a Value Added Tax is being thrown around. This is a consumption tax. The Fair Tax is a consumption tax, but it is in place of the income tax. The VAT is in addition to the income tax. When will it stop??

I must agree with you. I see us burdened with both higher income taxes and the new VAT. But we will all save with the new Obama care. Ya sure.

Originally Posted by waynet

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/...e-tax-in-2009/ perhaps a change here might help

The thread is about personal households, not corporations !!!

We all get that you are against capitalism !

Originally Posted by waynet

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/...e-tax-in-2009/ perhaps a change here might help

There are reasons why some co's pay no taxes sometimes. They are based on tax laws used to encourage co's to do what the gov't wants them to do in exchange fo legal loopholes.

to the tax credits still can come up with the government owing them money!!!!!!! And apparently it is a significant number that partake in this give away.
How is it right in ANY way shape or form to be giving non tax payers money?
And if it makes sense to some one PLEASE enlighten us as to why it does.
It cannot be what was intended when the tax credits were approved.

btk

The deficit spending problem cannot be solved with cutting spending alone. Again, I implore you all to do the arithmetic.

The real question is, what kind of tax increase will be most acceptable and effective?

It'll obviously have to be a combination of new or increased taxes. My own personal choices--in order--would be...

• Increased tax rates for the lower half of the income spectrum. To think that the lower half of income earners in the U.S. pays only 3% of the tax revenues is ridiculous on its face.

• Adopt a VAT tax system so common throughout the world. Keep it simple with few or no exceptions. Then the problem of so many corporations gaming the tax code to avoid paying taxes will go away.

• Increase the tax rates on the top 5-7% of income tax filers in the U.S. The current rates, even after the increase resulting from the sunsetting of the Bush tax cuts of 1991, are near the lowest they've ever been in the history of the income tax system.

Those three would be good for a start as far as I'm concerned. But they should be enacted along with STIFF reductions in federal spending...and I mean along the lines of 15-20% cuts in spending including cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and VA entitlement benefits.

We get it. You want tax increases.

spending in Washington.As was tendered in another post the representatives are knowledgeable about the condition we are in. I still remain skeptical. Why? How can ANY responsible body even think of exploring raising revenues (taxes, et al) without a meaningful run at SIGNIFICANTLY reducing spending. Everybody knows all the favorite projects, pork, give aways, bailout programs, school loans, relief to other countries and on and on and on.

Raising the taxes without reigning in the spending is a waste of time....only procastinates the inevitable.

Until such time as the attitude of our representatives, including Obama changes from one of continually throwing money at programs domestically and world wide to that of a country on shaky financial ground.....there will be NO improvement.

btk

Originally Posted by Donna2

We get it. You want tax increases.

Why would I want to increase taxes? That would cost me more money, as it would everyone else.

You keep denying my point that tax increases are inevitable. The deficit and ballooning debt problem cannot be resolved by spending cuts alone. As I've said many times before--do the arithmetic!

Originally Posted by billethkid

...How can ANY responsible body even think of exploring raising revenues (taxes, et al) without a meaningful run at SIGNIFICANTLY reducing spending...Raising the taxes without reigning in the spending is a waste of time....only procastinates the inevitable.

Agreed. 100%

You cut all the meaningless government agencies and the loafers who sit around looking for handouts, and you will be surprised how fast the deficit will go down.

Originally Posted by Donna2

You cut all the meaningless government agencies and the loafers who sit around looking for handouts, and you will be surprised how fast the deficit will go down.

Once again, Donna, do the arithmetic. Go research the federal budget, as I have. If ALL government spending except Social Security, Medicare and the defense budget was eliminated, we would still have an annual deficit and would be continuing to add to the national debt.

What you say sounds nifty, the kind of statements made by politicians running for office. BUT THE ARITHMETIC DOESN"T WORK!!

In the end, the solution will have to be both dramatic cuts in spending, including Social Security and Medicare, and in addition some pretty large increases in revenue (taxes). The numbers simply don't work any other way.

An almost automatic response to what I've said will certainly be...cut taxes to encourage economic growth and we'll grow our way out of the hole. Unfortunately, the Government Accounting Office has studied this and has estimated it would take 75 years of economic growth of greater than 10% per year to produce a balanced federal budget. The U.S. has had only one year in it's history with economic growth of 10%. Growing out of the problem we have won't work. It is going to have to be life-changing spending cuts combined with sizeable tax increases.

The only question is who will make those decisions? Will it be our Congress, or will it be our creditors? Watch what's happening to Greece to get an idea of what might happen to the U.S.