Truth About Bush Tax Cuts

I thought that the income tax rates for the more wealthy have gone down during the GW Bush administration by a few percent. Does anyone have data on that?

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I'm requesting the examples.

And should sucess be punished?? Why shouldn't everyone pay the same rate?

 

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I like this question #6 You are on to something. The real answer lies in-between.

The Growth of the economy was accelerated above its normal rate by the Tax Cuts. Greedy people grabbed at the opportunity to invest; it generated economic activity and grew the economy. It also threw off increased sales tax and state revenues not shown in all of those numbers above.

We did achieve that balanced budget during President Clintons term. The cost of that balance was bourne by the private sector in higher taxes, higher taxes that may have slowed the economy. Was any cost bourne by the public sector? We have record spending accross the board in all areas. Where is the give back?

Working people would consider a tax increase more seriously if there was some.......any inclination to curtail spending. They way the growth of spending is, we will have to keep on raising and raising taxes to keep up. It's a fools game. There is no discussion of cutting spending in any campagain.

So many times taxes are presented as a "punishment for the "lucky" rich. Taxes are to fund essential services not some kind of leveling campagain against a cartoon image of wealth.

I saw that The Piano Man put his house up for sale in Center Island, NY. The house has over 10 bedrooms over 10 bathrooms a 30'ft high ceiling in the kitchen. As usual I've got no links and am just flying from memory but I do remember that the house pays $210,000.00 in real estate taxes each year.

That comes to $210,000.00 in deductions to fereral income taxes. It does not even include the additional deduction for the mortgage interest, it does not include any other real estate this individual owns.

Serious consideration of our taxes will put a cap on these types of deductables. Not just rase the rate on Mr. & Mrs. Schmuck earning $90K in combined income per year. It might cause smaller houses to be built and consume less of our worlds resources.

:boat:

 

The tax rates have gone down for sure but because economic activity has increased the absolute value of taxs paid has increased.

 

http://online.wsj.com/public/page/opinion.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/index.html?Intro=intro3

 

The non-wealthy groups can also benefit from this type of approach but not nearly as much as the wealthy.

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Regarding one of the points Piney alleded to:

http://www.themortgagereports.com/2005/12/a_lesson_to_be_.html

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The tax rate for the wealthy has gone down in recent years, yet the trend for recent years, according to the chart Paul posted, shows the wealthy accounting for an increasing percentage of the tax revenue pie. How do you interpret that? (or anyone else here).

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That's because the tax rates for the upper income tiers have not gone down at all.

 

Sure. You get a monster tax break for buying an SUV. No shit. You also get a huge tax break if you donate over a certain amount to charity ($10,000. Do you have $10,000 to give to charity?). More, if you like.

How are they being punished? They still have more take home pay than the poor do.

Fact is, you tax the rich for the same reason Dillinger robbed banks: Because that's where the money is. Punishment has nothing to do with it...it's strictly pragmatic.

On the other hand, no rich person has ever gone broke by paying their taxes honestly.

Because the rate would have to be high enough that the middle class would be shoved into the working class, the working class into the lower class, and the lower class into the gutter.

 

Then why is the country broke?

 

But payroll taxes have gone up, and that's a tax that targets people making less than $108,000/yr.

 

Do you have some data on income tax rates for the upper income brackets for the past ten years?

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Actually during Bill Clinton’s presidency, from 1992 to 2000:

- Spending increased by 29.49%.
- Tax revenues increased by 85.58%.


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What accounted for the increase in revenues was the IT Bubble and Greenspan kept warning about irrational exhuberance. We're not likely to see another bubble like that or the real estate bubble of the recent past for a very long time. What we do have is an energy price bubble, but those folks have all the subsidies, tax exemptions and protections necessary not to possibly affect the national budget in a positive way.


Most social programs have already been cut to the bone. Where we going to cut now?

 

My hope would be foreign welfare...

 

The military welfare budget has become colossal under Bush. The Iraq adventure alone is becoming a trillion dollar affair.

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The war effort hasn't lead to much as far as increased revenues.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2008/03/06/top_iraq_contractor_skirts_us_taxes_offshore/

 

Payroll taxes are income taxes. Show me where the income tax rates have gone up.

 

The federal income tax rate for the top tier has falling from 39.6% to 35% during the Bush administration. The rates for other tiers have fallen as well. Data can be found at the Tax Policy Center website and other sites such as the Cato Institute.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?DocID=211&Topic2id=20&Topic3id=22



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What is it about Tax Increases that has our normaly cynical, inquisitive, suspicious body politic loose all sense of discression. Like a frat boy in a bordello where the blood rushes away from the brain toward the loins.

Is our self-dealing goverment really derseving of more funding?

Our press and media love to cover capitalistic scandals like Enron, Worldcom,. ect. Why the hands-off attitude toward goverment scandal? I mean when Capitalists cheat, its investors money. When goverments cheat its everybodys money.

When goverments cheat, the Press writes about whales dams and baby seals.

Is it so hard to belive that our Goverment is overstaffed, overfunded and overmandated?

Why the sense of entitlement to an ever increasing share of our wealth?

Do any of our politicians discuss fiscal restraint or budget cuts?

Does anyone else smell bullshit when goverment employees and public sector unions champion higher spending?