The Top 10% of income earners paid 71% of federal income tax

Originally posted by milkyway12
I think it should simply be 20% of everyones income.

Poor? Rich? Middle Class? 20%.

Poor are poor, that is why they are called that. Kind of hard to pay 20% of almost nothing.... but ya flat tax of, lets say, from 1% (I think everyone should pay something) to 25% based only on gross income would be very fair.

reply to post by Xtrozero

Considering i see "poor" people living better than middle class families all the time in Mississippi? They should pay 20% too.

I am not complaining , i have a very blessed family and we live very comfortably , but some of my friends have to bust their butts to stay a flaot while the people living in brand new brick homes in government housing , with 2 or 3 cars , trampelines , and an above ground pool sit at home collecting disability while they go and work, it adds some biased opinions really quick.

Originally posted by milkyway12
I think it should simply be 20% of everyones income.

Poor? Rich? Middle Class? 20%.

That sounds much better than 40%, which puts my actual earning into the mid-20k's before you know, living expenses and bills.

Originally posted by poet1b


Medicare is not part of income tax. You are all mixed up.

True, but we do pay 1.45% in social security that pays for it, which the bottom 90% benefit from more than the top 10%

I call BS on the chart (not the OP).
I wish I could make a nice chart but I can't so bear with me please.

According to 2009 IRS Tax Data (all tax dollars generated amounts in thousands):
$953,407,786 total dollars were collected in Income Tax
104,164,970 Tax Returns were filed.
(Data collected from the ALL category)


At the 10% tax rate (income bracket $0-8,350) 103,255,579 returns were filed, generating $111,028,033 dollars in taxes.

At the 15% tax rate ($8,350-33,950) 76,240,965 returns were filed, generating $287,917,605 dollars in taxes.

At the 25% tax rate ($33,950-82,250) 27,552,303 returns were filed, generating $201,968,293 dollars in taxes.

At the 28% tax rate ($82,250-171,550) 5,928,152 returns were filed, generating $73,609,298 dollars in taxes.

At the 33% tax rate ($171,550-372,950) 2,210,902 returns were filed, generating $71,123,960 dollars in taxes.

At the 35% tax rate ($372,950+) 790,063 returns were filed, generating $169,765,160 dollars in taxes.

IRS.gov (PDF download) Table 3.5 (2009)

I can't possibly see how the top 10% pay 71% of the taxes. Maybe I'm missing something, I'm math illiterate. But, I don't think I'm missing anything here except the beat up the poor and defend the rich rhetoric that's all too popular around here.

Originally posted by milkyway12
reply to post by Xtrozero

 

Considering i see "poor" people living better than middle class families all the time in Mississippi? They should pay 20% too.

I am not complaining , i have a very blessed family and we live very comfortably , but some of my friends have to bust their butts to stay a flaot while the people living in brand new brick homes in government housing , with 2 or 3 cars , trampelines , and an above ground pool sit at home collecting disability while they go and work, it adds some biased opinions really quick.

edit on 22-2-2012 by milkyway12 because: (no reason given)

I would say that is the very lucky few who get this much.. but ya the hardest hit are those who make just enough to not get any poor programs, but still don't make enough to live on.

Originally posted by Kali74
I call BS on the chart (not the OP).
I wish I could make a nice chart but I can't so bear with me please.

According to 2009 IRS Tax Data (all tax dollars generated amounts in thousands):
$953,407,786 total dollars were collected in Income Tax
104,164,970 Tax Returns were filed.
(Data collected from the ALL category)


At the 10% tax rate (income bracket $0-8,350) 103,255,579 returns were filed, generating $111,028,033 dollars in taxes.

At the 15% tax rate ($8,350-33,950) 76,240,965 returns were filed, generating $287,917,605 dollars in taxes.

At the 25% tax rate ($33,950-82,250) 27,552,303 returns were filed, generating $201,968,293 dollars in taxes.

At the 28% tax rate ($82,250-171,550) 5,928,152 returns were filed, generating $73,609,298 dollars in taxes.

At the 33% tax rate ($171,550-372,950) 2,210,902 returns were filed, generating $71,123,960 dollars in taxes.

At the 35% tax rate ($372,950+) 790,063 returns were filed, generating $169,765,160 dollars in taxes.

IRS.gov (PDF download) Table 3.5 (2009)

I can't possibly see how the top 10% pay 71% of the taxes. Maybe I'm missing something, I'm math illiterate. But, I don't think I'm missing anything here except the beat up the poor and defend the rich rhetoric that's all too popular around here.

edit on 22-2-2012 by Kali74 because: (no reason given)

How is it that around 216 mil is the total returns adding up each category and you said 104 mil was the total returns...

Also that is adjusted income not gross, so someone who made 1 million can be in the 0 to 8300 range....

reply to post by Xtrozero


My mother who owns a company makes about 154,000$ in gross income. She pays out nearly 68,000$ in taxes (State and Federal)

I dont know exactly how much more people want. She is paying around 50%+ of the her income to taxes. Though she lives comfortably , i think it is rather stupid to be charging her 50%+ of her income.

Originally posted by Xtrozero

Originally posted by milkyway12
reply to post by Xtrozero

 

Considering i see "poor" people living better than middle class families all the time in Mississippi? They should pay 20% too.

I am not complaining , i have a very blessed family and we live very comfortably , but some of my friends have to bust their butts to stay a flaot while the people living in brand new brick homes in government housing , with 2 or 3 cars , trampelines , and an above ground pool sit at home collecting disability while they go and work, it adds some biased opinions really quick.

edit on 22-2-2012 by milkyway12 because: (no reason given)

I would say that is the very lucky few who get this much.. but ya the hardest hit are those who make just enough to not get any poor programs, but still don't make enough to live on.

This! I am all for helping people, but it kind of makes me angry when most of the people I see using assistance programs have tons of children, are buying non-necessities with their program assistance, and drive better vehicles and live in nicer homes than I do.
My wife and I are hardly getting by, we own both of our vehicles, my student loans are payed off (my wife's are not, however) and we only have a couple of credit cards we use for emergencies and to build a credit platform.
Yet we are lucky if we put 100 bucks a month into our savings, then an emerency happens (car issue, vet bill) and we have to dip into our savings.
I looked into assistance programs, CAN'T get any. Not even foodstamps. While we are poor, apparently we aren't poor enough for food.
We also pay for private health insurance, which went up like 300% a couple years ago for no reason other than "health costs are on the rise". But we do not qualify for govt assistance?
Yes, let my wife pump out babies, not have a full-time job, and we will be able to live like the poor in our area. Makes perfect sense. Middle class get screwed again.

reply to post by Skyfloating


I don't know if anyone else noticed, but that graph showing what percent paid what percent came from 2009. It says it right underneath it on the right side.

Also, 10 percent hold 90 pecent of the wealth, so to be equally accountable as the oh so small middle class they would have to pay 90 percent of the taxes, so they are 19 percent too short.

Also, the ever expanding lower class if found by the governmen to make such small amounts of money that taxes would prevent them from living, and so the lowest 40 percent pay barely any taxes because the top 10 percent have all the money

Also, part of the top 10 percent control the production of money, part controls the laws regulating commerce, part puts their money in foreign accounts. These are representatives of representatives or representatives of us...

Lastly, howmuch did th corporationspay? There's more hootin and hollaring about gm and bofa paying their fair share instead of 0 percent. Companies aren't listed on that 3 year old chart, just people.

did I show you common sense,op?

reply to post by Xtrozero


I'll double check.

ETA: Seems to be a discrepancy on the PDF...check the link if you don't mind. Also I believe the sourced chart linked in the OP is based off adjusted gross income.

I don't really see how this is relevant. The argument that wealthy individuals do not pay their "fair share" in taxes is quite meaningless. The real problem is the massive inequality gap between the pay of the wealthy so-called job creators and their employees. You tell me; is it "fair" for a CEO to take home $5,000,000 with a bonus of $1,000,000 while the employees who actually work to create that wealth take home $30,000 and a bonus of a thousand or less? I'm sorry, but no one is so important that they need to take home that much, while their "lowly" employees take home chicken s**t and have no benefits, no job security, etc.

Income inequality of the magnitude we are witnessing currently is a strong indicator of approaching economic collapse.

reply to post by OrchusGhule


If you don't like it, feel free to quit and start your own business.

2nd.

Originally posted by randomname
if i made $100 million and i paid $90 million i wouldn't like it, but i wouldn't complain because i would still have $10 million in my bank account free to enjoy.

I am calling BS on that statement.

This is why I don't work overtime, if I do the taxes are horrible and I barely make anything for the extra hours I put in.

Many of these posters remind me of this:

“Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen!”

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!” (and who said that I wonder)

Work as little or as much as you can or desire, you will keep or receive what the government thinks you need. There are too many people on the system not putting anything towards it.....also, many seem to think the government should dictate how much a person can make? Some of us can see people trying to sneak in some socialism here.

By the way, I don't mind a break for those who are poor, who are working not those leeching.

Beyond all this debate, yes, the tax system needs to be changed and yes, the rich can be taxed more (and how about corporations, like GE).....but for once can I see a liberal ACKNOWLEDGE that the entitlement system needs a serious overhaul as well.

reply to post by peck420


Wow, what a clever smart ass statement. Fortunately, I do own my own business, buddy. I don't make 1,000% more than my employees, and there is no reason I should.

I guess that's what you would have said 100 years ago when this country was facing the same problem? Would you tell all the coal miners to keep going to work in a life threatening job, take home dirt pay, so their employers could take home millions? Would you tell them not to strike and retaliate by sabotaging their own mining operations? Apparently so.

The fact that CEO and owner pay has risen by several hundred percent while employee pay has remained stagnant (in some cases declining) over the past 30 years does not bother you then? Obviously you have no context in which to consider social justice.

Think before you post.

Class warfare is alive and well in the liberal camp, expect more of this from the Obama camp this upcoming election.

Of course they pay 71%. Of that top 10%, there are massively rich millionaires and billionaires who together, even with lower tax rates, are paying the bulk of the income tax. They should still pay the same rate, I think. Then the amount of income tax going to the federal government would help us get out of debt.

Originally posted by OrchusGhule
reply to post by peck420

 

Wow, what a clever smart ass statement. Fortunately, I do own my own business, buddy. I don't make 1,000% more than my employees, and there is no reason I should.

It was clever wasn't it. Of course the cleverness of it was completely lost on you, although that is not surprising.

I guess that's what you would have said 100 years ago when this country was facing the same problem? Would you tell all the coal miners to keep going to work in a life threatening job, take home dirt pay, so their employers could take home millions? Would you tell them not to strike and retaliate by sabotaging their own mining operations? Apparently so.

I would tell them to either shut up or change the system. Oh look, they did change the system. Unfortunately, they had something that is severely lacking in today's world.

The fact that CEO and owner pay has risen by several hundred percent while employee pay has remained stagnant (in some cases declining) over the past 30 years does not bother you then? Obviously you have no context in which to consider social justice.

A CEO's wage has very little to do with an individual employees wage and it shouldn't. Each person should be valued at what they are worth to the company. And in that regard, a good CEO is worth more than any number of employees in the company.

How does the saying go, "a captainless ship is bound to sink".

Think before you post.

Excellent advice...

reply to post by Skyfloating


the percentages should be the same .
if 99 people make 50k a year and 1 makes 40million , the 1 pays roughly 90% of the taxes . at the same %.

should he pay less of a percentage cause he makes more . i don't think so.

reply to post by jacklondonmiller


yes you should too. do you think a person that gets back more on their return than they paid in is paying taxes? and that is the vast majority of Americans, all on the take, they don;t pay anything, sure some of them have taxes taken out of their pay every week (30% of America don't work at all) but the ones that do and then get a big return, larger than they paid in basically paid no taxes. once you add in your child credits and everything else, most Americans get back more than they paid in, me included, so basically I do not pay taxes no matter what they have taken from me because they are going to give that back plus some, that equals no tax, and that is more than 50% of America, that really only leaves about 20% that are actually paying taxes at the end of the year. and 10% of those pay over 70% of the taxes in this country.