Monday, June 15, 2009

Then Do it Already

I love when rich people complain that they aren't paying enough in taxes. There is nothing stopping Warren Buffet from writing a check to the IRS for 50% of his income if he feels that is his fair share. Other problems with the article:
The progressive group Citizens for Tax Justice observes that the percentage of households with income under $30,000 complaining that federal income taxes are too high exceeds the percentage even paying federal income taxes.

That's probably because most people making less than $30,000 a year pay more in Social Security than they do in federal income tax and, unlike the writers at the New York Times, are smart enough to recognize that a tax is a tax is a tax even if the government chooses to call it an "investment" in their "retirement."

The funniest bit:
Misreporting of tax issues is widespread.

Even, it seems, at the mighty New York Times:
...income from capital in the form of dividends and capital gains is taxed at a lower rate than income from labor in the form of earnings.

Um, no. Dividends are taxed as ordinary income. On the 2008 tax form, line 9a Ordinary Dividends are added directly into line 22 Total Income. Capital gains are taxed at a lower rate because there is supposed to be some sort of social benefit to long-term investing instead of day-trading, which is yet-another example of the tax system being used to encourage or discourage private behavior rather than just funding the government. If the New York Times is so concerned that "tax system in this country is pretty complicated," why not advocate dropping all the social engineering built into the tax code and going back to a flat tax on all income over $X? While you're at it, drop the facade that Social Security is some sort of investment and just roll it into that same flat tax. The big advantage would be that Ms. Folbre would be less likely to embarrass herself by misreporting on tax issues.

By the way; how much did you make last year, Ms. Folbre? What was the average share of your income paid in taxes? Did you voluntarily pay any extra? No? Huh. Imagine that.

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