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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes, can we PLEASE not hear that ridiculous "40% of Americans pay nothing in taxes" line ever again? This is one of the most educated regions in the country, people. THINK.[/quote]

In 2011, 46% of households paid nothing in federal income taxes.  Why is it wrong to say so?

Those people still pay sales tax, and in some, but not most cases, state taxes.  So they have some taxes, but not federal income taxes. [/quote]

In 2010, the top 50% of of tax payers made 87% of this nation's income.  The bottom 50% (whose adjusted gross income was less than $33K/year) took in only 12% of this nation's income.  The top 1% of income earners had an effective tax rate of 23% in 2010, while the middle class had an effective tax rate of 16-20%  Why are you harping on those who make nothing for not paying their fair share?  [/quote]

See:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2011-10-06/income-tax-nonpayment/50676912/1

"WASHINGTON – Amid complaints that nearly half of tax filers in the U.S. won't pay federal income taxes this year, this has been lost: Those making $75,000-$100,000 a year are the fastest-growing share of people who don't pay federal income taxes.

Last year, some taxpayers mailed their returns at the last minute to the IRS. Others paid nothing at all.

Not working poor people — but those who are firmly middle class. They still make up less than 1% of the total number of income tax filers who pay no tax at all, but their overall number has exploded, from fewer than 5,000 not paying taxes in 1996 to nearly 500,000 in 2009, the most recent year of available data."

[/quote]

If Congress wants to eliminate tax breaks for middle class families, or cap the total deductions, I'm all for it.  I think we should be clear about two things:

1.  The source of the problem is tax credits and deductions, not the income tax rate.  This is a bipartisan issue that has nothing to do with tax rate fairness.

2.  The total dollar amount of the problem of those 476,624 people in the 75-100K bracket with zero taxes is at most a $7 billion issue.

3.  The thing that is designed to prevent this particular problem at upper incomes is the AMT.  Yet the same conservatives complaining about taxes hate the AMT.  So effectively you complain about the number of people getting off without paying taxes due to excess deductions, AND you complain about the thing that keeps people honest about deductions.  Which is it???[/quote]

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