Would you agree to a flat income tax rate, i believe in treating everyone equal?

Question

The Top 50% pay 96.54% of All Income Taxes
(The top 1% pay more than a third: 34.27%)

October 4, 2005

This is the data for calendar year 2003 just released in October 2005 by the Internal Revenue Service. The share of total income taxes paid by the top 1% of wage earners rose to 34.27% from 33.71% in 2002. Their income share (not just wages) rose from 16.12% to 16.77%. However, their average tax rate actually dropped from 27.25% down to 24.31%


*Data covers calendar year 2003, not fiscal year 2003
- and includes all income, not just wages, excluding Social Security
Think of it this way: less than 3-1/2 dollars out of every $100 paid in income taxes in the United States is paid by someone in the bottom 50% of wage earners. Are the top half millionaires? Noooo, more like "thousandaires." The top 50% were those individuals or couples filing jointly who earned $29,019 and up in 2003. (The top 1% earned $295,495-plus.) Americans who want to are continuing to improve their lives, and those who don't want to, aren't. Here are the wage earners in each category and the percentages they pay:
The top 1% pay over a third, 34.27% of all income taxes. (Up from 2003: 33.71%) The top 5% pay 54.36% of all income taxes (Up from 2002: 53.80%). The top 10% pay 65.84% (Up from 2002: 65.73%). The top 25% pay 83.88% (Down from 2002: 83.90%). The top 50% pay 96.54% (Up from 2002: 96.50%). The bottom 50%? They pay a paltry 3.46% of all income taxes (Down from 2002: 3.50%). The top 1% is paying nearly ten times the federal income taxes than the bottom 50%! And who earns what? The top 1% earns 16.77% of all income (2002: 16.12%). The top 5% earns 31.18% of all the income (2002: 30.55%). The top 10% earns 42.36% of all the income (2002: 41.77%); the top 25% earns 64.86% of all the income (2002: 64.37%) , and the top 50% earns 86.01% (2002: 85.77%) of all the income.

Answer 1

flat tax - heck yah. that's a big reason i'm thinkin' huckabee.
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*WOW* does RichardR have a clue? please tell me his answer was sarcasm & went completely over my head... please?
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*EDIT* to "right you are ken": the problem with your analogy is that the $100 *should* be earned in some fashion. that money is equally up for grabs by whoever is willing to work for it. as it stands now, anyone can make up a sob story for money... say how badly their life stinks... how a wee bit o money would make it all better. life isn't all about money - and no amount of money makes the fundamental problems of life go away. you morally do what you need to in order to provide the basics for you and your loved ones. it's proportional to your desire for whatever it is you want. it sure says something about a people when the rich man puts additional effort into *earning* that new car than the poor man does in providing for his own family. says something about a man that when hard times hit, he's got no one to turn to but big gov't.

Answer 2

I think the current tax system punishes success.

We pay at the top of the scale for Federal, live in a TAX hellhole (WI), and also have to pay The Alternative Minimum Tax. There are way too many taxes. We should start cutting wasteful spending.

Answer 3

Everyone is treated equally, if you become a billionaire tomorrow you will pay the same as yesterdays billionaire
Unfortunately a loaf of bread is sold for a fixed price and not a percentage of your earnings, so you need enough for essentials, your worried about them taking your mad money
In the old days you would be called a greedy (something or other)

Answer 4

the thing I don't get is...

where do you guys plan to recover all the lost income?

even poor people paying taxes won't raise nearly as much, when you greatly reduce the taxes on the wealthy... you will be trading people paying tens of thousands for people paying $50...

unless you GREATLY increase those in poverty's tax rate...

and that would be suicidal... as a candidate

Answer 5

This is great if you are speaking of "Income" as defined by Supreme Court decisions. I don't mean --all that comes in but income. Neither is income compensation for labor. Apathy is the only reason that people continue to put up with the withholding tax from their paychecks

Answer 6

Absolutely. Tax laws would become non-existent. Also budgeting would be much easier for our government. Steve Forbes used this as a campaign platform in 1992 and was run out of town by special interest groups on both sides.

Answer 7

Let's say there's a hundred dollars to be split amongst one hundred people. If you give ten people sixty dollars that means the other ninety have to fight over the other forty. Does that sound fair to you? That's what the money situation is like in our country.

Answer 8

No, because it would raise my taxes, as well as the taxes of people with less money than I have.

It's a BIG give back to the rich.
Why would you do that?

Answer 9

No.

I would rather abolish it altogether and compensate for it with tariffs.

I realize that may be unrealistic, but I feel it is much more fair than a flat income tax.

Answer 10

That smacks of socialism. No, it is better to live in a society that lives off of those who work hardest and have the least. Then, talk about what great values you have.