Originally Posted by
NWARet
The Internal Revenue Service tracks the tax returns with the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes each year. The average income on those returns in 2007, the latest year for IRS data, was nearly $345 million. Their average federal income tax rate was 17 percent, down from 26 percent in 1992.
Actually that is due to the top 400 making most of their income through capital gains, it is not Federal income tax rates.
Take a look at the overall picture:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/20...-pay-in-taxes/
But the REAL effective rate for most of us is around 40%, this is including all taxes at the State, Federal and Local level.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...TaxRate40.aspx
Even with a defacto flat tax the top 1% are still contributing about 40% of the Federal tab, and the top 50% are kicking in about 97% of the Federal tab.
Bottom line, spending is so far out of control that taxes cannot possibly cover it. Edging above that 40% real rate would cripple most people, ergo the prolific use of the printing press, which will cripple them in a completely democratic fashion.
Simple calls of injustice of this or that particular rate are a favorite of the media, and a good way to distract from the reality of the overall system we are forced to deal with, which is in fact very close to most socialist countries in percentage of overall take.
The simple answers are almost always wrong. When about half of us pay no Federal tax, it creates a system only willing to be halfway responsible and completely ignorant of the consequences. That half so dependent on the other is getting nailed anyway, one way or the other.
The machinery is cruel and complex, but it grinds quite finely and completely.