Tax The Rich

I get a weekly newsletter that I always find interesting even though it makes my blood boil. It's called Too Much and it talks about the many abuses of the rich and how much they are really walking away with and how everything they say is a lie.

This week they talk about the claim by Republicans and the rich that raising taxes on the rich doesn't mean anything because the rich just hire accountants to get them out of paying more:

Does this case against upping tax rates on high incomes have any merit? Do higher tax rates on high incomes merely roll off the super rich, as opponents of these higher rates charge, like water off a duck's back?

We don't have to guess at the answer here. We need only examine the historical record. Higher tax rates on income in the nation's top tax brackets, that record shows, do make a clearly discernible difference. The higher the tax rate on high incomes, the more in taxes the super rich pay.

Tax loopholes, of course, do exist, and the super rich have, down through the years, spent large fortunes on tax lawyers who know how to max out on the opportunities these loopholes offer. But they spend these fortunes whether tax rates on high incomes are rising or falling. The lower the tax rate, consequently, the less the rich will pay in taxes.

The current top federal tax rate, 35 percent, has been in place since 2001. On 2008 tax returns, this top rate will apply to ordinary income — that's wages, salaries, and bonuses, but not capital gains — over $357,700.

In other words, they are lying. If it was true why would the rich care if their tax rate was raised if they wouldn't have to pay any more? The fact is the rich ALREADY have armies of accountants getting them the best tax payment they can get, they won't suddenly start hiring them if their tax rate is raised. The Too Much web site has charts for how much they rich paid in the past when there were higher rates.

But look at the real numbers, they are now paying 35%, but only on income OVER $357,700, not on all their income. And the new tax rate will only take them back to the Clinton tax rate of 39%, again only for income OVER $357,700. This means $40,000 per every million they make. This is pocket change for them, they spend more than that on their daughter's birthday parties. And they were still pretty rich and getting richer during the Clinton years.

It's unbelievable how greedy and petty these people are - and unpatriotic. This is to help the country and they fight it tooth and nail.