How much should your income be taxed

I say tax lazy Clueless Old Liberals at 99%, tax fat manipulating film directors at 99% and tax the Hollywood elite that keep saying they will leave the country because of the outcome elections yet never do at 99% and we'll have no problem with taxes.

Seriously, taxing anyone at rates above 15 - 20%, or approximately 30% when combined with state taxes, is just ridiculous. Look at the real numbers, not at the percentages, and see how much money comes in from say 20% of $120,000 a year in income. Look at the same numbers for someone that is bringing in say $35,000 in income (where that individual would typically be paying more like 15% or less in taxes due to breaks aimed at lessening their pain). The real numbers are staggering. Too bad clueless ones never want to talk about real numbers. They want to talk about percentages because they feel it is so unfair that someone would make $120,000 while someone else only makes $35,000 (or less).

Even as they rant on about the issue though, they ignore professional athletes, actors, musicians and others that are making outrageous amounts of money, hiding it all away in shelters, and never really paying taxes on the money at all.

It's all about taking money from "the man", the rich guy/gal that has worked to get ahead in business and is making money on the backs of others. As if all of the classes/categories I listed above aren't doing the same damned thing.

How much should we tax? To balance the budget. After we have cut what the majority agree can be cut and we are fully enforcing the existing laws, we need to adjust the tax rates to first balance the budget and then begin generating an annual surplus that is applied to pay down the $8 Trillion we now owe. The rates on varrious income groups should be different for the simple reason of their ability to pay taxes and live. Setting any rate until we know what it will take makes no sense. We do know, at the current tax rates we are over $500 billion out of balance without offsetting the federal deficit with the surplus from Social Security and Medicare. That is BEFORE Katrina or Rita.

Thanks for not answering the question col. I asked what you think should be paid. Not you usual rhetoric about the deficit.

What percentage should someone pay?

I think everyone should have to pay the percentage that they think someone else shoud have to pay.

It's pretty telling when slime like Michael Moore pay their accountants so much to keep from having to pay "their fair share" while poiting their butt picking fingers at others to pay more!

Class warfare is nothing more than hatemongering from small minded bigots.

15% flat rate across all tax brackets, with no way to exempt yourself out of it through shelters or whatnot. No lawyering out of it, no deductions for family or property or charity or whatever. You pay your 15% no matter what... no matter how rich or how poor.

Next, take that income and limit govt spending to fit within that amount. If it falls above the line, cut it. It would be nice to see the govt for once actually abide by a real budget. Set a certain % of that income aside to start paying off debt. Any services the federal government gives up, the states can pick up the slack on, on an individual basis if they so choose.

A 15% flat tax would destroy ALL low and most middle income families. There is also no estimates that show a 15% tax would balance the budget and begin paying down the debt. A 15% tax on the poor and middle income workers would also have a very negative impact of spending and economic growth.

Today, I would restore the tax rates on the top two income brackets to the pre 2001 rates-- I think that was 39% and 36%. Tax dividends at the same rates as ordinany income and allow a million dollers per person (2 million for a couple) for the Estate tax and then apply the rates in effect prior to 2001. That million dollar exemption should be indedex by inflation each year. Also defer Estate tax on Family Business and farms that pass to the family. However, if the farm or business were later sold to non family, the estate tax would be due and payable. At the same time, cut the pork ( 20-30 Billion) and increase the enforcement to more fully collect the taxes in effect. After the impact of those actions are clear, look at any remaining deficit to see what other adjustmants, if any, in the tax rates would be needed to balance the budget and begin paying down the $8 Trillion National debt. Is that specific enough?

COLON Gangrene, so you would reverse the growth in the economy since 2001.

More mindless bigotry from a sheet and hood wearing class warfare bigot. Attend any lynchings lately?

Almost 40% col. No American should pay 40% of their income in taxes.

Are you a socialist col?

I'm in favor of a 3 tiered flat tax. 5% for those living at or under the poverty line, 10% for the overwhelming majority of the country, and 15% for the "very" wealthy, perhaps those making 500k per year or more. No deductions. No loopholes. No shelters. No deferred taxes. Flat rate right out of your paycheck or profit margin and that's it.

I'm in agreement with you on the flat tax whip, but unless we eliminate welfare, your graduated tax will only create more incentive for people to underachieve. Most welfare recipients don't understand the concept that $75,000.00 taxed at 15% is still more than $15,000 tax at 5%. They will only see the bottom line of 5% and insure that they never make enough to get to the next bracket.

I think a flat 15% would be more appropriate combined with the elimination of welfare programs. That way we will have eliminated all incentives for underachieving.

Dammit, and I swore that the next post I saw you on we would completely agree!! This was really close though, wasn't it??

Actually, I have to admit that I am unsure what the rate should be, but the rate should be equal.

The growth in the economy is first due to low interest rates that stimulated home building and car sales. The part of the tax cut that also helped was the tax cuts to the middle income workers NOT the waelthy. The increase in the debt will take the wind out of the future because of higher interest rates and the increased spending to pay the higher interest.

If the rates were equal the impact on the low and middle income would be far more harmful then on the higher income person. It would make there lives impossible and cut spending and lower economic growth. The ability to pay is an essential part of any workable tax system. A simple progressive system is what is best for the Vast majority of workers.

A simple progressive system is what is best for the Vast majority of workers.

AKA, for the greater good. Reeking of socialism today aincha?

and the bigot sings his song of prejudice and hate again. Let me guess, you don't see why YOU should have to pay 40% of your income right? Just a class warfare queen.

My preference is for a less cynical approach -- hope for transparency in government, i.e., first find out what essential services only the government provides and how much they actually cost. If that information is forthcoming and accurate, then we can let the accounting bookworms figure out how to structure a simple progressive/flat rate structure.

Barring that, then perhaps another approach would be to figure out a general "minimal cost of living" figure for various types of households (e.g., gross income, number of earners, number of kids, age of kids, etc.) and, based on population stats, figure out the rate structure such that:
- if they earn enough income, no family is taxed such that they take home less than the minimal cost of living
- families that earn more pay more in absolute tax dollars than families who are equivalent (e.g., kids, earners, etc.) but earn less
- no family pays more than a set rate (arbitrary?)

Otherwise, my family is comfortable despite the taxes we are currently paying though we're disatisfied with the way the various levels of government are run and the services they provide -- both from an efficiency/effectiveness point of view plus the general bloating everyone complains about.

$34.12, no more, no less......$34.12

No taxpayer would be paying 39% of their income after all the deductions etc. A person paying any substantial portion of their income at the 39% bracket would have a 7 figuar income per year. A person with a $1,000,000 income would have at least $700,000 after tax considering the deduction available. That is almost 20 times the GROSS Average income in this country. Cheney had taxable income in 2001 of $4,357,000 and paid 38% which left him after tax $2,701,000. In 2004, Cheney had taxable income of $1,743,000 and paid 21% which left him $1,7370,000 after tax. In 2001 after tax he made 80 times the average family gross income. In 2004 after tax he made 48 times the GROSS average income in America. It is hard to see how people like that have ANY problem with the old tax rates!

COL: Don't you think it's WRONG to penalize people for being successful?

You say that $1,000,000 after taxes leaves $700,000...which is a crap load of money...but that still means that the person being taxed had to hand over to the government a whopping $300,000 that they earned.

I'm, as a middle-of-the-road earner and nowhere near "upper middle class", forking over a grand total of about 20% of my income in taxes. Guess what? It still allows me to afford rent, utilities, a car, entertainment to some degree, food.... AND if I am smart, I can put away a nice chunk into savings every month.

A % flat rate is entirely reasonable and fair. It would in fact be lower than what many are paying out in taxes already.

How much is irrelavant if you look at the real problem with taxation. It is the exact same problem that caused the revolution which created America. We are not represented in terms of federal spending and taxation. We have no say whatsoever. No matter which waste of skin we send to represent us, they end up representing their party.

So, the question isn't how much we are taxed, but WHERE we are taxed. Most of our daily needs are at the state and local level, and our representitives at the state and local level are closer and more apt to be reached. In that light, the only way we can oversee spending and taxation is to take it out of the hands of the federal government.

When you do your budget at home, you don't look at your total expenses and decide whether to rob a 7-11. You look at what you spend and figure out where the waste is. We simply cannot do that at the Federal level. We aren't allowed by the very people who pretend to represent us.

So, until I my interests are represented, I don't think we should be taxed AT ALL.

a simple flat federal tax of 15% NO LOOPHOLES everyone pays period.

I think we should all be taxed $3.50

About tree-fitty sound good to me.

No matter which waste of skin we send to represent us, they end up representing their party.

That's why I always tell people that you simly cannot vote for the "man", vote for the lesser evil of the parties.

If, God forbid, Hillary changed parties tomorrow, I would still vote for the republican candidate in 2008 even if ...ggassspp...it was her. That was hard to type.