Federal Individual Income Tax Data

[HowardRoark]

One thing that drives me crazy is how misinformation and demagoguery is put out there so often without any pushback. The whole tax thing is insane. I have added a link that shows the true data on tax receipts. It would be useful for people to look at the numbers.

When we hear that tax rates are “unfair” and that the wealthy do not pay their “fair share”….the only thing I think is that they clearly don’t want people to know the facts. If people knew the facts, they would realize that the wealthy in fact DO NOT pay their fair share. They pay too much!!!

A few highlights:

1. The top 1% account for 39.89 % of all tax receipts.
2. The top 10% account for 70.79% of all tax receipts.
3. The top 50% account for 97.01% of all tax receipts.
4. The top 50% are paying more and more every year during the Bush years.
5. The average tax rate for the bottom 50% is 3.01%

http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html

It’s O.K. for the people who know better (Harvard guys) to come out and admit that the wealthy do indeed pay their fair share, it’s just that they want them to pay more in order to give it to the bottom 50%.

Make that case. I will listen.

But quit insulting the Great Unwashed……..tell them the truth.

[Scott Campbell]

Is it too much to ask for the bottom 50% to get their shit together and start contributing to the common good?

[hoosier]

Howie, your figures come from a think-tank that, while non-partisan in name, has been shown to be consistently producing a very misleading picture of tax burdens, especially on the upper middle class.

http://www.cbpp.org/5-10-99tax2.htm

Tax Foundation Figures Produce Misleading and Inaccurate
Impressions of Middle Class Tax Burdens
by Iris J. Lav, Isaac Shapiro, and Robert Greenstein

Additional tax-related reports
On April 15, the Tax Foundation issued a report stating that on average, Americans must work until May 11 to pay taxes. Each year since 1993, the Tax Foundation has claimed that the average American's tax burden has reached a new record high, and that "Tax Freedom Day" occurs later in the year.

The Tax Foundation's claim of ever-increasing tax burdens is in direct contradiction to evidence from the two leading sources of tax information for Congress — the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation. These authoritative sources find that taxes on typical middle-income families are substantially lower than the taxes the Tax Foundation claims Americans pay on average. Moreover, CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation find that taxes on middle-income families have been declining in recent years, not rising as the Tax Foundation reports would lead the public to believe.

[hoosier]

Is it too much to ask for the bottom 50% to get their shit together and start contributing to the common good?

Yeah, I'm sick and tired of those assholes basking in poverty and acting as if they didn't have a care in the world.

[mraynrand]

Howie, your figures come from a think-tank that, while non-partisan in name, has been shown to be consistently producing a very misleading picture of tax burdens, especially on the upper middle class.

http://www.cbpp.org/5-10-99tax2.htm

Tax Foundation Figures Produce Misleading and Inaccurate
Impressions of Middle Class Tax Burdens
by Iris J. Lav, Isaac Shapiro, and Robert Greenstein

Additional tax-related reports
On April 15, the Tax Foundation issued a report stating that on average, Americans must work until May 11 to pay taxes. Each year since 1993, the Tax Foundation has claimed that the average American's tax burden has reached a new record high, and that "Tax Freedom Day" occurs later in the year.

The Tax Foundation's claim of ever-increasing tax burdens is in direct contradiction to evidence from the two leading sources of tax information for Congress — the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation. These authoritative sources find that taxes on typical middle-income families are substantially lower than the taxes the Tax Foundation claims Americans pay on average. Moreover, CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation find that taxes on middle-income families have been declining in recent years, not rising as the Tax Foundation reports would lead the public to believe.

I believe these are families earning 30-40K/year. They would not be in the upper 50% and would be taxed less.

[SkinBasket]

Is it too much to ask for the bottom 50% to get their shit together and start contributing to the common good?

Yeah, I'm sick and tired of those assholes basking in poverty and acting as if they didn't have a care in the world.

Half the country is in poverty? We do need change we can believe in! Then 80% of the country can be in poverty together singing koom-by-ya together around the campfires that used to be their homes.

[HowardRoark]

Howie, your figures come from a think-tank that, while non-partisan in name, has been shown to be consistently producing a very misleading picture of tax burdens, especially on the upper middle class.

http://www.cbpp.org/5-10-99tax2.htm

Tax Foundation Figures Produce Misleading and Inaccurate
Impressions of Middle Class Tax Burdens
by Iris J. Lav, Isaac Shapiro, and Robert Greenstein

Additional tax-related reports
On April 15, the Tax Foundation issued a report stating that on average, Americans must work until May 11 to pay taxes. Each year since 1993, the Tax Foundation has claimed that the average American's tax burden has reached a new record high, and that "Tax Freedom Day" occurs later in the year.

The Tax Foundation's claim of ever-increasing tax burdens is in direct contradiction to evidence from the two leading sources of tax information for Congress — the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation. These authoritative sources find that taxes on typical middle-income families are substantially lower than the taxes the Tax Foundation claims Americans pay on average. Moreover, CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation find that taxes on middle-income families have been declining in recent years, not rising as the Tax Foundation reports would lead the public to believe.

It's raw data........I am not spinning it. Just trying to unravel the lies of certain candidates perhaps.

If you want to destroy my sweater...Woah-ah-woah-ah-woah.
Hold this thread as I walk away... As I walk away.
Watch me unravel, I'll soon be naked.
Lying on the floor, lying on the floor
I've come undone

[Partial]

Is it too much to ask for the bottom 50% to get their shit together and start contributing to the common good?

Yeah, I'm sick and tired of those assholes basking in poverty and acting as if they didn't have a care in the world.

They wouldn't be if they decided to get their shit together. Being poor is a choice. There are millions and millions of dollars to be legally made. It's easier to sell a pound of crack for 10 minutes than slaving away for maybe 10 hours a day, though.

[Scott Campbell]

Is it too much to ask for the bottom 50% to get their shit together and start contributing to the common good?

Yeah, I'm sick and tired of those assholes basking in poverty and acting as if they didn't have a care in the world.

Oh, I'm sure there are lots of good "excuses" for their plight. But I'm a bottom line sort of guy. They contribute to the common good at an unacceptable rate, and require the rest of us to pick up their slack.

And I think people with your attitude just act as enablers, making you partly responsible for their plight in my eyes. But I guess you mean well.

[hoosier]

It's raw data........I am not spinning it. Just trying to unravel the lies of certain candidates perhaps.

It's NOT raw data, that's exactly the point I'm trying to make. It has been selectively--and quite likely inaccurately--calculated by a "non-partisan" institute that is known to misrepresent tax data. Whether you're using it to "spin," or just unaware of the problems with this institute, is another issue entirely.

[hoosier]

They wouldn't be if they decided to get their shit together. Being poor is a choice. There are millions and millions of dollars to be legally made. It's easier to sell a pound of crack for 10 minutes than slaving away for maybe 10 hours a day, though.

Your ignorance and naivete know no bounds. The generous interpretation would be that you're young and silly and that you'll eventually grow up.

[HowardRoark]

It's raw data........I am not spinning it. Just trying to unravel the lies of certain candidates perhaps.

It's NOT raw data, that's exactly the point I'm trying to make. It has been selectively--and quite likely inaccurately--calculated by a "non-partisan" institute that is known to misrepresent tax data. Whether you're using it to "spin," or just unaware of the problems with this institute, is another issue entirely.

OK

Tell me how the data is wrong.

The data.

[HowardRoark]

And anyway, the "Center on Budget and Policy Priorities" isn't a think tank that spins things?

[hoosier]

Oh, I'm sure there are lots of good "excuses" for their plight. But I'm a bottom line sort of guy. They contribute to the common good at an unacceptable rate, and require the rest of us to pick up their slack.

And I think people with your attitude just act as enablers, making you partly responsible for their plight in my eyes. But I guess you mean well.

What are you talking about? What common good? If people like you had their way there would be no "common good" but instead a return to the barbaric world portrayed by Charles Dickens.

In any case, don't speak too harshly of the lower crust. If it weren't for them you'd be pulling weeds, taking out garbage and cleaning your toilets yourself.

[hoosier]

It's raw data........I am not spinning it. Just trying to unravel the lies of certain candidates perhaps.

It's NOT raw data, that's exactly the point I'm trying to make. It has been selectively--and quite likely inaccurately--calculated by a "non-partisan" institute that is known to misrepresent tax data. Whether you're using it to "spin," or just unaware of the problems with this institute, is another issue entirely.

OK

Tell me how the data is wrong.

The data.

How the fuck do I know where they go wrong? I don't have access to the "raw data", nor do I have the time or expertise to go over it. What I do know is that the Tax Foundation has been questioned by serious, reputable sources--yes, like the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.