Thursday, April 08, 2010

Say what you want... I saw WOW

Greg Oden is cool and all but I just read an article that BLEW MY FREAKING MIND.  In the Dispatch today there was an article stating that 47% percent of people in this country will not pay a dime in federal income tax.... Almost freaking half.

Say what you want about the economy, unemployment rate, etc., you didn't know half the folks were paying nothing, so don't act like your did. Ok, maybe you did and you just didn't tell anyone because you thought you were hallucinating.  This isn't about any political party or Obama or Bush or "taxing the rich"or the freaking Easter Bunny, its just mind blowing, can I get a liberal to at least agree with that?

Tell me if this sentence sounds ridiculous - Half of the people who file taxes this year will pay NOTHING in federal income tax.  Thats not "half will get a return" thats "half will owe nothing".

My favorite line is in the first paragraph "Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it's simply somebody else's problem." (emphasis added).


I'm taking April 15th off, I think I've earned it. I deal with the "other 47%'s" problems on the 16th.  Who's coming with me?


Ed



6 comments:

  1. This is the first you've heard of this? And you're an elected official?

    Would it also BLOW YOUR FREAKING MIND to know the top half of those filers who actually pay, account for 97% of total tax receipts?

    If anyone feels they aren't taxed enough they are more than welcome to make a gift to the Treasury Department.

    Great picture of the urban outdoorsman with a Dell. It reminds me of this one. "Before we grab lunch at the soup kitchen I gotta grab my Blackberry!"

    If you're going to pull a John Galt, how about instead of 4-15 do it on 4-20. Maybe go to Athens for the holiday.

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  2. Anonymous11:15 PM

    Not me-- taxes don't bother me---in the U.S. we pay so little compared to all other nations globally. I like having streets I can drive on, good schools I can send my kids too, and a place to live without too much pollution. Can't do that without government! Only wish the rich would pay as much as the middle classes. Also, you seem to not to know that income taxes are only one tax--there are many other taxes--sales taxes, user taxes, capital gains! Get with it man!!

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  3. Anonymous1:38 PM

    Comment from iPad at apple store easto

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  4. who are teh mystical "rich" you are talking about nameless wonder.

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  5. Anonymous10:57 PM

    Eddie, this article is pretty misleading - and the tone the author uses seems to be intended to piss people off. Obviously this is a really complicated subject - these articles provide more background:

    Tax Debate

    Overall Tax System

    Another fun fact - 44% of those who make less than $20K per year think they pay too much in federal income taxes..

    -- Pat

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  6. Anonymous11:30 PM

    Heading to the airport in about 24 hours to meet Witt, but one more thing.. Just to bottom line it - here's a link that shows that once all taxes are accounted for - it turns out that each income's group's total share of the taxes is almost the exact same as their total share of national income.

    In other words, if you're in the group that makes 23% of all the income in the U.S., you pay close to 23% of all tax receipts.. if you're in the group that makes 5% of total income, you pay close 5% off all tax receipts.

    Why is this? Because while the federal income tax is progressive, many other taxes (for example, sales tax and FICA) are regressive and the less money you make, the higher a percentage of your income goes to the taxes.

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