Rich and poor agree: Income tax unfair. Duh! A new Ipsos poll, clearly conducted to coincide with tax time, gives us this not-so-startling news. Here is an article about it:
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060416/NEWS01/604160490/1001/news
Here is key text:
More than half of those who make less than $50,000 a year said it's unfair, and more than six in 10 of those who make more than $50,000 felt that way.
In fact, unhappiness with the tax system was spread fairly evenly across income groups, age groups and education levels.
This seems to somewhat contradict what the media was telling us five years ago, just before Bush's tax cuts were passed. We were told that polls indicated that a majority of people were opposed to tax relief. If this was true, I have to wonder what type of loaded questions were asked of the respondents. Anyway, here is the article's next paragraph:
A majority of people said the middle class, the self-employed and small businesses pay too much in taxes, the poll found. And they think those with high incomes and big businesses don't pay enough.
I knew that was coming! "Those with high incomes and big businesses don't pay enough." Are people aware of the percentages that people in those brackets have to pay in taxes? It amounts to a lot of money if you earn it! Of course, some people go through life envying people who have things that they don't, so they want the government to punish those people for daring to be well off. Those people need to think about what the world would be like without rich people or big businesses. Where would you get a job? Who would pay you your five-figure salary? Probably not a middle-class person, and certainly not a poor person. If the tax code continues to punish achievers, their incentive to achieve will be taken away, and that will hurt all of us.
Besides, raising taxes on the rich does not amount to the rest of us paying less in taxes. Also, even if the rich were taxed at 100%, it still would not pay for all of the spending that our government indulges in. And if anyone were taxed at 100%, why would they bother working ever again?
The top federal income tax rate is currently 35%. Imagine if you were taxed at that rate, in addition to all the other deductions that come out of your paycheck. Wouldn't that put a crimp in your lifestyle? If you envy the lifestyles of the wealthy, think of it this way: when rich people spend their money, we all benefit from it. Why? Because that pumps more money into our economy. More goods and services are sold, more profits are made, more jobs (and more taxpayers) are created -- and the money is generally put to better use in the private sector than it is by our wasteful government.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060416/NEWS01/604160490/1001/news
Here is key text:
More than half of those who make less than $50,000 a year said it's unfair, and more than six in 10 of those who make more than $50,000 felt that way.
In fact, unhappiness with the tax system was spread fairly evenly across income groups, age groups and education levels.
This seems to somewhat contradict what the media was telling us five years ago, just before Bush's tax cuts were passed. We were told that polls indicated that a majority of people were opposed to tax relief. If this was true, I have to wonder what type of loaded questions were asked of the respondents. Anyway, here is the article's next paragraph:
A majority of people said the middle class, the self-employed and small businesses pay too much in taxes, the poll found. And they think those with high incomes and big businesses don't pay enough.
I knew that was coming! "Those with high incomes and big businesses don't pay enough." Are people aware of the percentages that people in those brackets have to pay in taxes? It amounts to a lot of money if you earn it! Of course, some people go through life envying people who have things that they don't, so they want the government to punish those people for daring to be well off. Those people need to think about what the world would be like without rich people or big businesses. Where would you get a job? Who would pay you your five-figure salary? Probably not a middle-class person, and certainly not a poor person. If the tax code continues to punish achievers, their incentive to achieve will be taken away, and that will hurt all of us.
Besides, raising taxes on the rich does not amount to the rest of us paying less in taxes. Also, even if the rich were taxed at 100%, it still would not pay for all of the spending that our government indulges in. And if anyone were taxed at 100%, why would they bother working ever again?
The top federal income tax rate is currently 35%. Imagine if you were taxed at that rate, in addition to all the other deductions that come out of your paycheck. Wouldn't that put a crimp in your lifestyle? If you envy the lifestyles of the wealthy, think of it this way: when rich people spend their money, we all benefit from it. Why? Because that pumps more money into our economy. More goods and services are sold, more profits are made, more jobs (and more taxpayers) are created -- and the money is generally put to better use in the private sector than it is by our wasteful government.
posted by Liberty Bell Blues | 2:35 PM
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