One last example, and this one's just a bit easier than the last post. This was said by Rick Perry on August 13, but he's only the latest to make the same observation:
“We’re dismayed at the injustice that nearly half of all Americans don’t even pay any income tax.”
In her Aug. 15 column at the Washington Post, Ruth Marcus observes:
"Perry’s statement conjures visions of America as Slacker Nation, where the overburdened wagon-pullers drag an increasingly heavy burden of freeloaders. His number is correct but, like other conservatives who have seized on the statistic, Perry draws from it a dangerously misleading lesson."
Marcus refers to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center to explain that our progressive income tax system is "designed to help the working poor and low-income seniors." The Center points out that a couple with two children is entitled to the same standard deduction ($11,600) and personal exemptions ($3,700) as anyone else. If that couple's income is less than $26,400 they have zero income for tax purposes.
Marcus says: "Does Perry truly see this as an “injustice”? Does he believe his “dismay” should be alleviated by raising the tax burden on these households?"
"In addition, the notion that these households pay no taxes is flat-out wrong. They pay — leaving aside state and local sales, income and property taxes — federal gasoline and other excise taxes and, most significantly, payroll taxes on every dollar they earn. These taxes are regressive. Everyone pays the same share, regardless of income, so they hit the poor hardest, and they counterbalance the progressivity of the income tax code."
Marcus goes on to point out that only 18% of households pay neither income or payroll taxes. Of these, 10% are elderly and 7% earn less than $20,000 per year.
She says: "Assuming that Perry isn’t worked up about Slacker Grandmas, the relevant “slacker share” — people who are supposedly comfortably ensconced on that wagon the rest of us are pulling — is in single digits rather than “nearly half.”
When one looks at the totality of all taxes paid, the picture is a little different.
" Examining the total tax burden — state, federal and local — Citizens for Tax Justice calculated that the top 1 percent of households (average income, $1.3 million) earned 20.3 percent of income and paid 21.5 percent of taxes in 2010."
Marcus concludes: "The tax code is studded with a costly bevy of deductions and preferences — mortgage interest, employer-sponsored health insurance, retirement savings — that benefit wealthier taxpayers over those with modest incomes. If Perry wants to go after injustice in the tax code, he’ll find ample targets. Failing to tax poor people enough isn’t among them."
BONUS:
On last Thursday's Daily Show, Jon Stewart addressed this issue and "nailed it" as only he can do. Here is that segment, which is split into two parts:
Part 1:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| World of Class Warfare - Warren Buffett vs. Wealthy Conservatives | ||||
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Part 2:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| World of Class Warfare - The Poor's Free Ride Is Over | ||||
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