Why isn't the upper class pissed?

[salukipv1]

So let's say you earn $400k/year and pay 36% income tax.


Then you're Mitt Romeny earning probably over $10million/yr and paying 15% or less.

btw Mitt doesn't think $365k is that much, ie just from speaking fees.


Still doesn't make sense so called "rich" Americans earning let's say that $400k/yr want the lower class to pay more in taxes, when the really rich among us pay even less tax than those earning $75k/year.


Personally I say if someone earning more than you is paying less tax than you, then you should be able to pay that same tax rate. ie 15% or less...


Can we agree on a 25-30% flat tax?
I'm not there yet, but if I was paying 36% on my $400k/yr when the super rich are paying less than 15% on say $10million/yr I'd be extra pissed! Pissed at the super rich, not people earning $75k or less... whether you're paying 25-36% tax you're still paying more than these super rich clowns.

[RobertSubnet]

Can we agree on a 25-30% flat tax?

There will never be a flat tax in this country - at least not without one heck of a fight. The power to decide who wins and who loses via the tax code is the greatest power congress has. They will not give that up for a flat tax.

[BigBuck22]

Originally Posted by salukipv1

So let's say you earn $400k/year and pay 36% income tax.


Then you're Mitt Romeny earning probably over $10million/yr and paying 15% or less.

btw Mitt doesn't think $365k is that much, ie just from speaking fees.


Still doesn't make sense so called "rich" Americans earning let's say that $400k/yr want the lower class to pay more in taxes, when the really rich among us pay even less tax than those earning $75k/year.


Personally I say if someone earning more than you is paying less tax than you, then you should be able to pay that same tax rate. ie 15% or less...


Can we agree on a 25-30% flat tax?
I'm not there yet, but if I was paying 36% on my $400k/yr when the super rich are paying less than 15% on say $10million/yr I'd be extra pissed! Pissed at the super rich, not people earning $75k or less... whether you're paying 25-36% tax you're still paying more than these super rich clowns.

Romney's money was from investments.

Btw, ABCnews is reporting that Romney has millions in the Cayman Islands. Tax haven. (Romney campaign says it's still the same rate)

[LBR]

Then you're Mitt Romeny earning probably over $10million/yr and paying 15% or less.

In other words you don't have a clue, and are just making something up.

...want the lower class to pay more in taxes,...

Helloooo...the lower class doesn't pay any taxes at all.

...whether you're paying 25-36% tax you're still paying more than these super rich clowns.

Assuming you didn't just pull numbers out of thin air (you did), you are talking percentages, not actual amounts. The rich pay tons more, in actual dollars, than the middle class. Again, the bottom 40 or so percent don't pay any taxes--a big portion of them get "earned income" (what a stupid name for it), i.e. they get a tax "refund" even though they haven't paid in any taxes.

Amazing how Romney has the libs wetting their pants already...hate to think of how they would soil themselves if Gingrich gets the nomination......

Chad

[Fieldmouse]

The real question is why can't our government live on 10% or less? Sal, you will never understand that question nor the answer to it.

[The Rev]

Sal are you jealous you can't make any money? Good grief if you would quit complaining you might have time to learn a skill!

[ipscshooter]

Some people are simply too stupid to understand that there is a difference between income tax and capital gains tax.

[CalHunter]

Originally Posted by salukipv1

So let's say you earn $400k/year and pay 36% income tax.
The top tax rate (as proposed for 2012) is 35%. You wouldn't be taxed at a 36% rate. The tax rate is graduated so you would pay different rates according to the money you made in each separate bracket.

For example, assuming you're married and earned $400K a year. You would pay 10% Fed income tax on the first $17,400 you earned.
You would pay 15% on the next $53,300 you earned.
25% on the next $72K you earned.
28% on the next $74,750 you earned.
33% on the next $170,900
And last, but not least, 35% on the remaining $11,650 you happened to earn while earning that $400K per year.

As you can see, if you earned $400K per year (and were married), you wouldn't pay the top tax rate on all or even on most of your income. You would pay the tax rate for each bracket of your income (i.e. 10, 15, 25, 28, 33 or 35%).

Your "effective" (read averaged out) tax rate for all of your $400K a year income is approximately 27+% (I'll defer to any accountant members on this exact figure).



Then you're Mitt Romeny earning probably over $10million/yr and paying 15% or less.
This is most likely Romney earning most or all of his actual taxable income from long term investments (held over 1 year) and taxed at the long term capital gains tax rate of 15%. Just FYI, this rate is going up after 2012.

btw Mitt doesn't think $365k is that much, ie just from speaking fees.
If Romney's a billionaire or even a millionaire several times over, it may not be "much" to him, comparatively speaking.

Still doesn't make sense so called "rich" Americans earning let's say that $400k/yr want the lower class to pay more in taxes, when the really rich among us pay even less tax than those earning $75k/year.
More can be a subjective term but using your example:

The American earning $400K a year would pay $109, 139.50 in taxes or 27.28+% effective tax rate (assuming he had no tax write-offs).
The American earning $75K a year would pay $10,800 in taxes for an effective tax rate of 14.41+%.

As you can see, the American who earns $400K a year pays more taxes in several ways. Higher top tax bracket of 35% versus 25%. Higher effective tax rate of 27% versus 14%. And, he pays about 10 times the total amount of money in taxes that the guy making $75K a year pays.


Personally I say if someone earning more than you is paying less tax than you, then you should be able to pay that same tax rate. ie 15% or less...
Actually, you already pay a lower ("less") income tax rate if you make less than $400K a year. For now, if you earn capital gains from long term investments (held over a year) and your income tax bracket is in the 10% or 15% brackets, you also pay less capital gains tax at a reduced rate of 5% (versus 15% for people in the 25% or higher tax brackets (again, this stuff is changing after 2012).

Can we agree on a 25-30% flat tax?
No. Most people who have studied this concept have determined the necessary amount to raise the same amount of taxes is somewhere between 18-22% although Herman Cain had a slightly more complex proposal involving "9-9-9."

I'm not there yet, but if I was paying 36% on my $400k/yr when the super rich are paying less than 15% on say $10million/yr I'd be extra pissed! Pissed at the super rich, not people earning $75k or less... whether you're paying 25-36% tax you're still paying more than these super rich clowns.

See above answers. It would take you a while to save up and convert your earnings from regular income to long term investment income but a person who is serious about saving for retirement could do this quite feasibly. Again, the long term investment capital gains tax will change after 2012. You could do this but it would take a while.


Here's a copy of the expected 2012 federal tax rates from a Forbes article, hyperlink included. I've added some responses above in blue.

Federal Income Tax Brackets for 2012

Here’s a quick rundown of what the Federal income tax brackets are expected to look like in 2012:
Tax Bracket
Married Filing Jointly
10% Bracket $0 – $17,400
15% Bracket $17,400 – $70,700
25% Bracket $70,700 – $142,700
28% Bracket $142,700 – $217,450
33% Bracket $217,450 – $388,350
35% Bracket Over $388,350

http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybui...irs-tax-rates/

[burniegoeasily]

Hello, its capital gains. Same rate Obama pays on his gains from investments , as well as everyone else does on capital gains. Why are you not pissed Biden and Obama pay 15% on their capital gains?

[The Rev]

Originally Posted by ipscshooter

Some people are simply too stupid to understand that there is a difference between income tax and capital gains tax.

Come on now your just being too hard on ole say; he knows what Capital Gains is... A new Breakfast Cereal!!!!