Who are the 47 percent who pay no income tax?

[gabosaurus]

I was wondering about this earlier. And quite surprised when I found out this was indeed a factual number.
I became much less surprised when I found this explanation by a business columnist for the Houston Chronicle. Which, I understand, is a quite conservative newspaper in a conservative city (the latest poll has Romney leading Obama 56-40 in Texas).

http://blog.chron.com/lorensteffy/2012/09/why-47-or-46-of-americans-pay-no-income-tax/

[Little-Acorn]

It's often bandied about that 47% of American workers pay zero (or less) income tax. The "less" comes from those who get the Earned Income Tax Credit, a sneak form of Federal Welfare for low income earners.

Liberals have been working for decades to shift the burden of paying income taxes, from low-income people to middle- and Higher-income people.

It has been a long-term goal of the left, to get at least half the population to a point where they pay no income taxes at all.

Once that is achieved, the left can be assured that none of their bills to increase income taxes by 10%, 20%, 50% or whatever, will EVER be voted down by a majority, since the increases will never apply to the majority. And that most of their other tax increases will be able to ride on the coattails of that major fact. Mitt Romney's recent coment, addressed that fact.

Many philosophers have pointed out that, in a pure democracy, the majority has it in their power to disenfranchise and enslave the minority. That is exactly the left's goal: To put the people who earn most of the U.S.'s income, into a minority, where they can no longer prevail in votes to take away their income.

[Kathianne]

I hate to say it Gabby, but you may be the only one surprised. The number refers to fed income tax, not all taxes. Bush increased the numbers with child care and earned income credits.

[gabosaurus]

I never said he didn't. I was merely pointing out that I didn't realize how many people didn't pay income tax.
My cousin never paid income tax until she got married. She didn't earn enough.

I believe the upper middle and upper class should pay the most income tax. They make the most income. How does that not make sense?

[Kathianne]

I never said he didn't. I was merely pointing out that I didn't realize how many people didn't pay income tax.
My cousin never paid income tax until she got married. She didn't earn enough.

I believe the upper middle and upper class should pay the most income tax. They make the most income. How does that not make sense?

I've been for that progressive system since I was old enough to understand. Not so much anymore.

If everyone has to pay at least 5% and then adjustments for income are made, I'm pretty sure folks would notice a whole lot more how much the government is taking.

If everyone has skin in the game, perhaps they'll pay more attention.

[gabosaurus]

I have always been for a sliding scale. But there has to be a lower limit. There are those who work to provide for their families and still barely survive. I see them every day. Common sense has to include compassion.

[Kathianne]

I have always been for a sliding scale. But there has to be a lower limit. There are those who work to provide for their families and still barely survive. I see them every day. Common sense has to include compassion.

We'll agree to disagree. I'm saying that and haven't paid fed taxes since my divorce.

[Anton Chigurh]

Houston Chronicle. Which, I understand, is a quite conservative newspaper in a conservative city Wrong on both counts. The Chronicle has a quite liberal editorial board, and the Houston area has been a bastion of blue for at least the last four Presidential elections.

The fact that you were surprised about the 47% figure being accurate though, shows you haven't been paying any attention to either the government or the economy the last twenty years or so.

[fj1200]

I believe the upper middle and upper class should pay the most income tax. They make the most income. How does that not make sense?

They do, practically all of it. Check out the IRS data.

[Trigg]

I have always been for a sliding scale. But there has to be a lower limit. There are those who work to provide for their families and still barely survive. I see them every day. Common sense has to include compassion.


There are also those who don't struggle to provide and don't to care to get off welfare. They're happy to work the system, and THOSE are te people Romney is talking about.

Compassion is proving a safety net, which we have, and I'm glad we have.

I am sick of working with people on welfare with their 3rd child, smelling like smoke, covered in tattoos, and their NAILS are nicer than mine.

[aboutime]

I never said he didn't. I was merely pointing out that I didn't realize how many people didn't pay income tax.
My cousin never paid income tax until she got married. She didn't earn enough.

I believe the upper middle and upper class should pay the most income tax. They make the most income. How does that not make sense?


gabby. Therein lies your problem, and the same can be said for Obama, Biden, all liberals, all democrats who are never willing to admit, or even hint about the actual facts that....THE SO-CALLED RICH, or WEALTHIEST Americans ALREADY PAY the Highest in taxes. In fact. They pay the largest portion of federal taxes now.

Sadly for all of you RICH people haters out there. Even if every RICH person in the United States today...paid 1OO Percent taxes. They still wouldn't come close to paying down the debt.
But none of you want to hear that. It's called the truth.
However. I love to hear all of you complain about the Rich, and the Wealthy.

It tells me. As long as you are one who must always blame the Rich for your misery by hating them, and demanding they pay more.
I am more certain. The WHINERS, and COMPLAINERS are the very same people who will NEVER be successful, or Rich.

And that is what all of you WANT to prolong...by always demanding that Government Make your decisions, and control your life.

[DragonStryk72]

I never said he didn't. I was merely pointing out that I didn't realize how many people didn't pay income tax.
My cousin never paid income tax until she got married. She didn't earn enough.

I believe the upper middle and upper class should pay the most income tax. They make the most income. How does that not make sense?

Okay gabs, if I earn 25,000 a year, and pay 15%, I'm putting in 3,750 a year in taxes. Now, If I'm making 250,000, and pay in 15%, I'm putting 37,500 a year in taxes. That means the rich, even if they are paying the same precentage as the poor, would still be paying more in taxes.

Why is it fair to force 1% of the country pay for almost half of the country? Especially when we're such amazing assholes to them? I mean it, we make every rich person in the country out to be Captain Planet villains. Really, Bill Gates is evil? He used 65 billion dollars of his own money to form one of the largest charitable organizations in the entire wordl? Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney are evil? They're personally propping up half of Africa right now.

Okay, we'll make this easier: You and your friends have a weekly Denny's run, and every week, you pay for half of their food. The people you pay for, meanwhile, continue to call you a horrible, money-grubbing bitch who must have slept her way into money, and that you should pay for even more of their food every week. How inclined, exactly, do you feel toward feeding those people?

[LiberalNation]

I made way below the poverty line and they didn't give me all my fed taxes back in refund. No fair, i should be this 47%.

[Kathianne]

Reminds me of this:

http://www.funnyandjokes.com/bar-stool-economics.html


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Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:




The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.


So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20."
Drinks for the ten now cost just $80 The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected.

They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'


They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay! And so...




The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).


Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.


"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"


"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"


"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.


The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!


And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.


David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

[Kathianne]

On the 'story' and that seems to be what it is:

http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/howtaxes.asp

[SassyLady]

I made way below the poverty line and they didn't give me all my fed taxes back in refund. No fair, i should be this 47%.

Why? Why are you making below the poverty level?

[LiberalNation]

bc I'm young and poor. Why else.

[SassyLady]

bc I'm young and poor. Why else.

Total cop-out and a loser statement. Instead of complaining about NOT being a part of the 47% that don't pay taxes, why not bust your ass trying to be proud of the fact that you are contributing?

[DragonStryk72]

What gets me is that it doesn't even if we turn every rich in the country over and shake them till all the change falls out. The government would still be broke, would still be in huge debt. This isn't really difficult folks. The government is a huge spendaholic, and now needs more money.

I swear to God, I do not mean to sound crass here, but it's like one of those guys who's 600+ lbs., and his mom just keeps bringing food to him, because he's gotten too fat to get himself out of the bed to be productive. That's where our government is at, and it's where it's going to stay as long as we demand no different from them.

[tailfins]

What gets me is that it doesn't even if we turn every rich in the country over and shake them till all the change falls out. The government would still be broke, would still be in huge debt. This isn't really difficult folks. The government is a huge spendaholic, and now needs more money.

I swear to God, I do not mean to sound crass here, but it's like one of those guys who's 600+ lbs., and his mom just keeps bringing food to him, because he's gotten too fat to get himself out of the bed to be productive. That's where our government is at, and it's where it's going to stay as long as we demand no different from them.

I'm training my kids how to prepare to emigrate from the US. With people like Obama running things, I no longer have confidence for US will remain a place of prosperity. That loss of prosperity seem A-OK with some even on this message board. It's a real sign of decline when 47% are OK with the slide.

[LiberalNation]

Total cop-out and a loser statement. Instead of complaining about NOT being a part of the 47% that don't pay taxes, why not bust your ass trying to be proud of the fact that you are contributing?

Only Bill Gates is proud to pay taxes.

It's one of those necessery evils.

[SassyLady]

Only Bill Gates is proud to pay taxes.

It's one of those necessery evils.

No, he isn't the only one.

[red states rule]

I never said he didn't. I was merely pointing out that I didn't realize how many people didn't pay income tax.
My cousin never paid income tax until she got married. She didn't earn enough.

I believe the upper middle and upper class should pay the most income tax. They make the most income. How does that not make sense?


Why do liberals like you Gabby want to punish success? I am sure you also are not aware that most small business owners file their taxes on a 1040 thus pay taxes at the normal income rates and thus would be hit with those higher taxes you demand. Do you really think by raising their taxes that will encourage them to expand their business and hire more workers?

When libs take about people paying their fair share please explain how it is fair that....

the top 1% pay about 40% of all Federal Income tax collected

the top 5% pay about 60% of all Federal Income tax collected

the top 25% pay about 80% of all Federal Income tax collected

while the bottom 50% pay about 3% of all Federal Income tax collected

When you add in the 47% that pay nop federal income taxes at all, it is not hard to see a very small minority of people are paying the taxes

How can you possibly demand they pay more?

AND when you add in state and local taxes, property taxes, Social Security taxes, Medicare and Medicade taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes, and all the other ways government nickle and dimes people - it is not unusal to have many "rich" people handing over more than half their income to the government

and you want them pay more out of fairness?

[red states rule]

Only Bill Gates is proud to pay taxes.

It's one of those necessery evils.

If only libs like John Kerry and Charlie Rangel who demand WE pay more in taxes paid the taxes they owed

[taft2012]

Many philosophers have pointed out that, in a pure democracy, the majority has it in their power to disenfranchise and enslave the minority.

Precisely. If liberals applied their interpretation of the 14th Amendment to taxation, in the same manner they applied it every other issue, the progressive income tax would of course be unconstitutional.