Greedy Capitalists Hogging Wealth Are Not Causing Income Inequality

[bill]

I am sure the bottom 95% would like to earn enough to pay a higher percentage of the taxes.

Agreed and that is completely up to them. Just so you know the bottom 50% pay almost no income tax

[finehoe]

The top 5% pay well more than 50% of all income tax paid. That is world class inequality.

How so?

[Ajax]

So it's possible that the coefficient has dropped since the CBO's last report in 2007?

It's quite possible, but the idea that that drop is significant is farfetched.

BTW, the report is not from 2007, it is from Oct. 2011:  http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/124xx/doc12485/10-25-HouseholdIncome.pdf

I apologize - I meant their numbers were from 2007.  Since the two declines were during recessions, I was just trying to point out that it's possible the coefficient has declined again between 2007 and 2011. 

[bill]

The top 5% pay well more than 50% of all income tax paid. That is world class inequality.

How so?

By writing a check April 15th

[finehoe]

Just so you know the bottom 50% pay almost no income tax

And just so you know, government is not funded solely by the income tax. 

It's approximately true that 50 percent of Americans pay no federal income tax. However, conservatives routinely abbreviate this by claiming that 50 percent of Americans pay no taxes. This is the zombie lie. Conservatives get very upset when you call them on it, but that never makes them stop.

So where does the rest come from? Well, in addition to federal income taxes, Americans pay excise taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, state income taxes, and various other taxes. In one form or another, even poor Americans pay a fair chunk of their income in taxes. 

Bottom line: Poor people pay less in taxes than rich people, as they should, but it's very far from zero. The midpoint of the first quintile is about $11,000, and even a household earning that little pays about $1,400 in taxes. The household in the second quintile, earning a munificent $30,000 per year, pays $7,000 in taxes.

[bill]

I know, finehoe.  This latest argument kills me.  It just kills me.  And yet the meme spread to where people honestly believe that the bottom 50% doesnt pay any tax at all.

The best part is that with foundations, tax loopholes, and charitable contributions, the top 4% also don't really pay income taxes either.

I am glad my post gave you two an opportunity to get on your soap boxes about conservatives blah blah blah.
Please note previous post "INCOME TAX PAID"
and yes the top 5% pay over 50% of the INCOME TAX PAID

No go back to your delusional, incoherent blathering

[bill]

I am sure the bottom 95% would like to earn enough to pay a higher percentage of the taxes.

Agreed and that is completely up to them. Just so you know the bottom 50% pay almost no income tax

So are you claiming that the entire bottom 95% could just simultaneously transition to the top 5%, Bill?

Can you tell me how that it mathematically possible?

As usual simpleness. I did not claim anything. I stated that it is up to an individual if they want to make more money and pay higher taxes. I welcome all new taxpayers. 

[finehoe]

Biggest Public Firms Paid Little U.S. Tax, Study Says

Warren E. Buffett, take note. It is not just a few wealthy individuals paying unusually low taxes to the federal government. Corporate America is not far behind.

A comprehensive study released on Thursday found that 280 of the biggest publicly traded American companies faced federal income tax bills equal to 18.5 percent of their profits during the last three years â€" little more than half the official corporate rate of 35 percent and lower than their competitors in many industrialized countries.

Mr. Buffett, the billionaire investor, has said that the tax code is unfair, allowing him to pay just 17 percent in federal taxes last year, about half the percentage his secretary paid.

The corporate study, prepared by the left-leaning advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice, examined the regulatory filings of the companies to compute each year’s current federal taxes. Some of the companies disputed the findings, saying that the study understated their tax payments by omitting deferred taxes that they may pay in future years.

Using information from the companies’ own corporate filings, however, the study concluded that a quarter of the 280 corporations owed less than 10 percent of profits in federal income taxes and 30 companies had no federal tax liability for the entire three-year period.

The report is being released as corporations are pushing for a cut in their official tax rate, saying the current system puts American companies at a disadvantage with competitors abroad and encourages them to shift jobs and investments overseas.

The Congressional supercommittee charged with cutting the budget deficit is also considering proposals to revamp the tax system, simplifying the corporate structure and possibly lowering corporate rates.

The study said that the shelters and loopholes in the current tax system rewarded companies that aggressively avoided taxes at the expense of those that did not. A quarter of the companies in the study had a federal tax bill of 35 percent of their profits, while a similar number had an effective rate of less than 10 percent.

“Companies that are paying their fair share ought to demand that the tax-dodging companies pay their fair share too,” said Robert S. McIntyre, the author of study. “So should the public, which is subsidizing them in terms of increased federal debt.”

The report is based on data gleaned from the companies’ regulatory filings, which can be different from their corporate tax returns. Even in a year when a company claims an overall tax benefit, it may pay some cash taxes while accumulating credits that can be redeemed in future years. But because most corporations do not release their tax returns, these corporate regulatory filings offer the best publicly available gauge of what companies pay and what strategies they use to reduce their tax bills.

Among the companies that the study said escaped a liability for all three years were Boeing and Ryder System, whose chief financial officer, Art A. Garcia, said the company had benefited from the additional depreciation intended to stimulate the economy.

Boeing officials said they, too, had paid  some federal taxes, but would not say how much. They said they had lowered their rate by taking advantage of tax breaks intended to encourage hiring. Chaz Bickers, a company spokesman, said Boeing hired 9,000 American workers this year

Also on the list was General Electric, which has come under close scrutiny since The New York Times reported earlier this year that the company had recorded $5.1 billion in American profits in 2010, but claimed a federal income tax benefit of $3.2 billion in its regulatory filing.

“The report is inaccurate and distorted,” said Kenneth Juarez, a G.E. spokesman. He said G.E. paid “billions of dollars in taxes in the United States over the last decade,” but would not say what part was federal income taxes.

The company that recorded the biggest reduction in taxes was Wells Fargo Bank, which is a large holding of Mr. Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway. The banking company reported a total of $49 billion in profits in 2008 through 2010, yet received a tax benefit of $651 million. Ancel Martinez, a spokesman for Wells Fargo, said much of the tax savings came from write-offs obtained after its 2008 purchase of Wachovia, which incurred big losses during the financial crisis.

American corporations are paying a smaller share of taxes than in previous decades. They paid a total of $191 billion in federal income taxes in 2010, the Internal Revenue Service said, representing about 1.3 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. That is down from about 6 percent during the 1950s (although some of the decline is because a smaller percentage of businesses now file as corporations).

Despite the decline in corporate tax rates since then, business advocates say the nation needs to lower its top rate further to encourage hiring and investment. Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, said that the United States system was not competitive because it taxed income earned around the world, instead of just in this country.

“There are still Bolsheviks who recognize that we need to bring the rates down,” he said.

But the Citizens for Tax Justice study found that two-thirds of  the American companies with significant profits overseas actually paid more in taxes to foreign governments than they did in the United States. Rather than lowering the corporate rate more, the study said, the federal government should end the subsidies and shelters that favor companies that game the system.

“Closing the loopholes will have real benefits, including a fairer tax system, reduced federal budget deficits and more resources to improve our roads, bridges and school â€" things that are really important for economic development here in the United States," the report said.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Biggest-Public-Firms-Paid-nytimes-969088864.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=

[Dog Walker]

The top 5% pay 50% of the income taxes because they are earning way more than 50% of the money.  They still are paying a smaller PERCENTAGE of their earnings than the 45% of us are on our earnings.

[bill]

The top 5% pay 50% of the income taxes because they are earning way more than 50% of the money.  They still are paying a smaller PERCENTAGE of their earnings than the 45% of us are on our earnings.

Huh? fuzzy math

[bill]

I know, finehoe.  This latest argument kills me.  It just kills me.  And yet the meme spread to where people honestly believe that the bottom 50% doesnt pay any tax at all.

The best part is that with foundations, tax loopholes, and charitable contributions, the top 4% also don't really pay income taxes either.

I am glad my post gave you two an opportunity to get on your soap boxes about conservatives blah blah blah.
Please note previous post "INCOME TAX PAID"
and yes the top 5% pay over 50% of the INCOME TAX PAID

No go back to your delusional, incoherent blathering

would you consider hallunicating the word, 'conservatives' in my post to be 'delusional'?  Or just blather?

Blather

[bill]

Well we do agree then.  Your comments are blather.  Perhaps we differ in as much as I also think they are delusional.

It really is as simple as math, which apparently you are fuzzy at.

Nanny nanny boo boo
Well explain it smartest guy in the room

[Dog Walker]

The top 5% pay 50% of the income taxes because they are earning way more than 50% of the money.  They still are paying a smaller PERCENTAGE of their earnings than the 45% of us are on our earnings.

Nothing fuzzy about it.  The top 5% earn more than 50% of all income earned by everybody.  Of course they pay 50% of the income taxes.  If they paid taxes at the same rate (%) that the rest of us do, then they would pay MORE than 50% of the income taxes.  Since they don't, it is obvious that they pay a much smaller PERCENTAGE on their income than the rest of us do.

i.e. Warren Buffet pays a lower percentage of taxes on his income than his secretary does.

[bill]

The top 5% pay 50% of the income taxes because they are earning way more than 50% of the money.  They still are paying a smaller PERCENTAGE of their earnings than the 45% of us are on our earnings.

Nothing fuzzy about it.  The top 5% earn more than 50% of all income earned by everybody.  Of course they pay 50% of the income taxes.  If they paid taxes at the same rate (%) that the rest of us do, then they would pay MORE than 50% of the income taxes.  Since they don't, it is obvious that they pay a much smaller PERCENTAGE on their income than the rest of us do.

i.e. Warren Buffet pays a lower percentage of taxes on his income than his secretary does.

Now I get it thanks for explaining. The 50% that do not pay income taxes are paying a MUCH higher percentage than those 5%

[Dog Walker]

(Banging head on desk) I give up!