tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301787602455775830.post122442468424703838..comments2023-06-08T02:51:08.463-07:00Comments on ThatMansScope: Annotated State of the Union Address, part IIBlogmeisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09403276569733381203noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301787602455775830.post-1624969809669676162012-01-31T20:55:38.357-08:002012-01-31T20:55:38.357-08:00So the top 1% pay 2-4x as much as everybody else, ...So the top 1% pay 2-4x as much as everybody else, but they still aren't paying their fair share? Ridiculous. <br /><br />And what does Romney vs. Gingrich have to do with the rest of the real world? You do realize that Romney, as a business owner, pays the corporate tax rate of 35%, and then on top of that pays the capital gains rates on the distributions he takes out of the business. So he's actually paying a lot higher all-in rate than Newt. Same thing for Buffet.<br /><br />The reason why investment income is taxed at a lower rate than wages is because it is a double tax. Your investment is at-risk capital that only materializes if a fund invests wisely. <br /><br />I don't remember hearing about John and Teresa Heinz Kerry's effective rate being such a big issue in the 2004 campaign. But I guess President Obama would rather talk about Romney's success because he doesn't have much else to run on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301787602455775830.post-5882016683591362312012-01-30T07:54:21.297-08:002012-01-30T07:54:21.297-08:00This is largely correct. We do have a progressive ...This is largely correct. We do have a progressive tax code, and rightfully so. But there is more to the story, which I will address in a blog soon. For the moment, compare the tax returns of two people: Newt Gingrich (wealthy, but most of his income from his businesses and lectures) and Mitt Romney (very wealthy, with almost all of his income from capital gains). Newt pays twice the tax rate that Mitt pays.<br /><br />Also, check out the graph of "effective tax rates" here:<br /><br />http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/26/1058858/-Romney,-Gingrich,-Obama-Buffett-tax-ratesBlogmeisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09403276569733381203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301787602455775830.post-42920263785831619292012-01-29T04:30:47.459-08:002012-01-29T04:30:47.459-08:00The average millionaire already has a much higher ...The average millionaire already has a much higher burden than "the rest of us". The top 1% in 2009 paid 24% of their AGI in taxes. The top 50% of the country paid 12%. Between 25 and 50%, the average person paid 5.5%.<br /><br />http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html#table8Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com