Bush Gives Super-Rich 'Free Checking'
By C. William Boyer
Okay, I guess Mr. Bush is not a total failure as a president, I mean he has accomplished a few things. Why, let's not forget that seminal piece of legislation on bankruptcy reform. No more will scofflaws like Ethel and Marvin Pinwhistle of Okeefenokee, FLA run up a bunch of medical bills when Marvin spent 3 months in the ICU, barely alive with Ethel, that skinflint, sitting next to him with tears in her eyes and his hand in hers, no more will lowlifes like that stiff our nation's proud credit card companies of what's rightfully there's.
"Pay up, Ethel, or so help me I will break both your legs." The Credit Card man shifted the gun from right hand to left, wiping a meaty hand across his forehead; his forehead was wide and sloping, with a greasy shine of perspiration. "Look, I'm taking what's mine cuz the government says I can. Now give me Marvin's watch and those earrings you got there, yeah, the pearl jobs he gave you for your 40th anniversary. Now, I'll be back in two weeks for the rest, so if yous knows what's good for yous, you'll have my dough. Capice?"
Yes, what a bravado, forward-looking piece of historic legislation that was, bankruptcy reform, and lest we forget, Mr. Bush was pivotal in enacting something utterly VITAL to our nation's well-being, tort reform. Blessed be the corporations, now safe from egregious lawsuits aimed at recovering money for people undeserving. Now, it's possible for automakers, drug companies, whomever to apply The Formula (Average rate of failure (x) Average settlement per failure; or cost of recall; if the cost of the recall is less, we don't recall the cars with the faulty brakes or the drugs that cause cerebral hemorraging).
Okay, I digress.
What I really wanted to share was this: Because of George W. Bush's ruinous and unfair tax polices, this past year, fiscal 2004, 15% more SUPER RICH PEOPLE paid NO TAXES. Let me repeat: 15% MORE SUPER RICH PEOPLE PAID NO TAXES. I'm talking about people earning over a million dollars a year paying less in taxes than the kid working the summer job at 7-11. Piss you off? Then read this and feel the burn:
Over all, the top 2 percent of earners, the 2.5 million filers with income of $200,000 or more, paid almost 27 cents in taxes for each dollar of income they reported in 2002, other I.R.S. data showed. This group accounted for 53.5 percent of the income tax paid by all Americans. Among that high-income group, however, almost 83,000, or one in 33, paid less than a dime in taxes for every dollar of income. An additional 79,000 paid less than 15 cents. The average for all Americans was 13 cents.
Congress taxes Americans on their worldwide income. Of the 5,650 individuals and couples who paid no income taxes to the United States, only 728 paid any to a foreign government, while 4,922 lived completely free of income tax.
The I.R.S. measured income in two ways.
One was by adjusted gross income, the last line on the front page of the Form 1040 tax return. By this measure, 2,959 affluent individuals and married couples paid no federal income tax, down from 3,385 in 2001, but up from 2,328 in 2000. There were 60 such examples in 1977, when a dollar was worth three times as much as in 2002.
On a worldwide basis, 2,551 such individuals and couples paid no tax in 2002, down from 2,875 in 2001, but up from 2,022 in 2000. There were 37 such examples in 1977, the first year the agency disclosed such data.
The second measure, giving a fuller picture, was expanded income, which also includes money from sources like tax-exempt interest and untaxed Social Security benefits. By this measure, 5,650 well-to-do individuals and married couples paid no federal income tax in 2002, up from 4,910 in 2001 and 2,766 in 2000. There were 85 such examples in 1977.
Worldwide on this basis, there were 4,922 individuals and couples who lived tax free in 2002, up from 4,119 in 2001 and 2,320 in 2000. There were 64 such examples in 1977.
The I.R.S. report said that "the most important item in eliminating tax" was taking income in the form of tax-exempt interest on state and municipal bonds. Nearly two-thirds of those who lived tax free reported income from such bonds.
The four largest items that reduced income subject to taxation, the I.R.S. said, were miscellaneous deductions; interest paid on borrowing to finance investments; various tax credits; and large medical bills, which can be deducted once they exceed either 7.5 percent or 10 percent of adjusted gross income, depending on the taxpayer's
circumstances. And you wonder why George W. Bush has posted the five biggest budget deficits in history? Why George W. Bush, the 43rd president, representing a little more than 2% of the president terms, has now accrued 40% of our nation's historic debt? That's right: in five years, he's racked up almost half what every president before him racked up COMBINED, guys like Abe Lincoln fighting the Civil War and Woodrow Wilson sending our boys 'Over There' and FDR taking down the Nazis and the Japs, yeah, all that, and George has racked up almost half our historical debt fighting a POLICE ACTION.
Okay. I'm all done now. How're you?
Okay, I guess Mr. Bush is not a total failure as a president, I mean he has accomplished a few things. Why, let's not forget that seminal piece of legislation on bankruptcy reform. No more will scofflaws like Ethel and Marvin Pinwhistle of Okeefenokee, FLA run up a bunch of medical bills when Marvin spent 3 months in the ICU, barely alive with Ethel, that skinflint, sitting next to him with tears in her eyes and his hand in hers, no more will lowlifes like that stiff our nation's proud credit card companies of what's rightfully there's.
"Pay up, Ethel, or so help me I will break both your legs." The Credit Card man shifted the gun from right hand to left, wiping a meaty hand across his forehead; his forehead was wide and sloping, with a greasy shine of perspiration. "Look, I'm taking what's mine cuz the government says I can. Now give me Marvin's watch and those earrings you got there, yeah, the pearl jobs he gave you for your 40th anniversary. Now, I'll be back in two weeks for the rest, so if yous knows what's good for yous, you'll have my dough. Capice?"
Yes, what a bravado, forward-looking piece of historic legislation that was, bankruptcy reform, and lest we forget, Mr. Bush was pivotal in enacting something utterly VITAL to our nation's well-being, tort reform. Blessed be the corporations, now safe from egregious lawsuits aimed at recovering money for people undeserving. Now, it's possible for automakers, drug companies, whomever to apply The Formula (Average rate of failure (x) Average settlement per failure; or cost of recall; if the cost of the recall is less, we don't recall the cars with the faulty brakes or the drugs that cause cerebral hemorraging).
Okay, I digress.
What I really wanted to share was this: Because of George W. Bush's ruinous and unfair tax polices, this past year, fiscal 2004, 15% more SUPER RICH PEOPLE paid NO TAXES. Let me repeat: 15% MORE SUPER RICH PEOPLE PAID NO TAXES. I'm talking about people earning over a million dollars a year paying less in taxes than the kid working the summer job at 7-11. Piss you off? Then read this and feel the burn:
The chances of having a large income but not paying taxes on any of it are growing, according to the data, issued in the Internal Revenue Service's annual report to Congress on well-to-do Americans who live tax free. About one in every 436 high-income Americans paid no taxes in 2002, up from one in 531 in 2001 and one in 1,010 in 2000.The Nontaxpaying Affluent Grew by 15% in One Year
The New York Times
June 29, 2005
The number of affluent individuals and married couples who paid no federal income
taxes jumped more than 15 percent in 2002, to 5,650, new government data showed yesterday.
Over all, the top 2 percent of earners, the 2.5 million filers with income of $200,000 or more, paid almost 27 cents in taxes for each dollar of income they reported in 2002, other I.R.S. data showed. This group accounted for 53.5 percent of the income tax paid by all Americans. Among that high-income group, however, almost 83,000, or one in 33, paid less than a dime in taxes for every dollar of income. An additional 79,000 paid less than 15 cents. The average for all Americans was 13 cents.
Congress taxes Americans on their worldwide income. Of the 5,650 individuals and couples who paid no income taxes to the United States, only 728 paid any to a foreign government, while 4,922 lived completely free of income tax.
The I.R.S. measured income in two ways.
One was by adjusted gross income, the last line on the front page of the Form 1040 tax return. By this measure, 2,959 affluent individuals and married couples paid no federal income tax, down from 3,385 in 2001, but up from 2,328 in 2000. There were 60 such examples in 1977, when a dollar was worth three times as much as in 2002.
On a worldwide basis, 2,551 such individuals and couples paid no tax in 2002, down from 2,875 in 2001, but up from 2,022 in 2000. There were 37 such examples in 1977, the first year the agency disclosed such data.
The second measure, giving a fuller picture, was expanded income, which also includes money from sources like tax-exempt interest and untaxed Social Security benefits. By this measure, 5,650 well-to-do individuals and married couples paid no federal income tax in 2002, up from 4,910 in 2001 and 2,766 in 2000. There were 85 such examples in 1977.
Worldwide on this basis, there were 4,922 individuals and couples who lived tax free in 2002, up from 4,119 in 2001 and 2,320 in 2000. There were 64 such examples in 1977.
The I.R.S. report said that "the most important item in eliminating tax" was taking income in the form of tax-exempt interest on state and municipal bonds. Nearly two-thirds of those who lived tax free reported income from such bonds.
The four largest items that reduced income subject to taxation, the I.R.S. said, were miscellaneous deductions; interest paid on borrowing to finance investments; various tax credits; and large medical bills, which can be deducted once they exceed either 7.5 percent or 10 percent of adjusted gross income, depending on the taxpayer's
circumstances. And you wonder why George W. Bush has posted the five biggest budget deficits in history? Why George W. Bush, the 43rd president, representing a little more than 2% of the president terms, has now accrued 40% of our nation's historic debt? That's right: in five years, he's racked up almost half what every president before him racked up COMBINED, guys like Abe Lincoln fighting the Civil War and Woodrow Wilson sending our boys 'Over There' and FDR taking down the Nazis and the Japs, yeah, all that, and George has racked up almost half our historical debt fighting a POLICE ACTION.
Okay. I'm all done now. How're you?
posted by C. William Boyer at 9:31 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home