SOME VERY VERY TAXING FACTS to discuss at dinner this holiday season!

 

 Taxes

 * Total tax collections in the U.S. are expected to be  $2,667,000,000,000 in 1998.(1) This represents 35.4% of the country's

 total income.(2)

 

BUT REMEMBER, that dollar bill changes hands DAILY. SO you got a hundred on TUSDAY, you pay taxes on it, YOU SPENT it with JOE, WEDNESDAY,JOE PAYS TAXES ON IT! THURSDAY HELEN GOT is, the same bloody HUNDRED and sHE ALSO PAID TAXES ON IT. THIS IS BEYOND PONZEI!!!!!

 

 

·       Medieval serfs paid an effective tax rate of 33.3% and were considered  slaves.(3)

·       They worked for MASSAH. The LAIRD and LADY. THERE was always food on that plantation. SOME barn always had wheat. BUT HERE in the good ole uSA? When your plastic is maxed, there’s no wheat in the park, no apples there either! ALL PUBLIC PARKS should have apple trees. A poor person could live a year on just apples. WHY don’t THEY?

 

 * The Tax Foundation (a non partisan organization established in 1937)

 calculates something known as "Tax Freedom Day". The calculation

 illustrates the average number of days Americans work into a year to pay

 their taxes. MOST OF FRONT PART OF THE YEAR, you give every cent you make AWAY TO UNCLE SAM!

 

 Year Tax Freedom Day

 1930 Feb 12

 1950 Apr 3

 1970 Apr 26

 1980 Apr 30

 1990 May 1

 1998 May 10th

 2004  JUNE 31st.

 2010 July 31st

 

MORE THAN HALF YOUR WORK GOES TO SOMEONE ELSE! SO THEY CAN BOMB BABIES in BAGHDAD, FALUJAH and AFGHANISTAN and Pakistan.

 

 (2) * In 1997, Democrat Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle said "I don't

 think the American people are overtaxed." In 1997, Bill Clinton told the

 people of Virginia, that they would be "selfish" to favor a reduction in

 the Virginia car tax.

(4) SO THE REPUBS SAW TO IT HE DID NOT MAKE IT BACK TO WASHINGTON THIS YEAR. EVERY OTHER POLITICIAN who said stuff like that got his AIRPLANE FALLING OUT OF THE SKY WITH HIM AND HIS FAMILY IN IT!

 

 * Bill Clinton made this claim in his Feb,2,1998 State of The Union

 Address: The typical middle class family will have the lowest tax rate

 in 20 years.(5) Federal taxes in 1998 will be 20.1% of the Gross

 Domestic Product, which is the highest level any year since World War

 2.(24) Tax Freedom Day (an average) got pushed out 9 days when cutie

 Bill Clinton became President. Taxes for the U.S. median family as a

 percentage of income:

 

  1977 1997

 single income family 33.9% 35.9%

 dual income family 36.5% 37.6%

 

 (2) * Republicans attempted to pass a Constitutional Amendment in 1997 that

 would have required a 3/5ths majority vote in both Houses of Congress in

 order to run a deficit. To create a Constitutional Amendment, it must

 pass both Houses of Congress with a 2/3 majority and 3/4 of the

 individual States must ratify it. The Amendment was defeated primarily

 by Democrats. N.J. Senator, Democrat Bob Toricelli promised voters in

 his 1995 campaign that he would vote for a Balanced Budget Amendment. He

 voted against the Amendment and it failed to pass the Senate by one

 vote. (10)(14)

 

 * The tax cuts in the 1997 budget agreement were pushed for and secured

 by Republicans. The tax cuts included an increased child tax credit and

 a reduction in the capital gains tax. As of 1998, Republicans in

 Congress are trying to enact numerous proposals to cut taxes. Among the

 proposals: ending the marriage penalty, eliminating estate taxes,

 further reducing the capital gains tax, and elminating the tax on Social

 Security benefits. (11)

 

* In 1997, the top 1% of income earners in this country paid 29% of the

total federal income taxes. The top 10% of income earners paid 60% of

the total federal income taxes. The top 20% of income earners paid 74%

of the total federal income taxes. The bottom 50% of income earners paid

5% of the total federal income taxes. (6)

 

 * 32% of individual federal income taxes are needed in order to pay the

 interest on the national debt of $3,500,000,000,000.(15)(16)(1998

 figures)

 

 * The "Flat Tax" is a proposal by Republicans Dick Armey and Richard

 Shelby to change the federal income tax to a single flat rate of 17%.

 Under this proposal, a family of 4 with an income of $48,890 would pay

 $2,990 in federal income taxes, as opposed to the $3,967 they would pay

 under the current system (1998 figures).(2)

 

 * A family of 4 with an income of $32,000 would pay no federal income

 taxes under a flat tax (1998 figures).(7)

 

 * A flat tax would reduce the costs of compliance (i.e. accounting

 costs, tax attorneys)with the federal tax code. If the costs of

 compliance ($236,000,000,000 in 1997) were added into the Tax Freedom

 Day calculation, Tax Freedom Day would come 13 days later into the

 year.(2)

 

 * A flat tax would reduce the influence of the 67,000 lobbyists employed

 by special interest groups who lobbied the federal government to the

 tune of $8,400,000,000 in 1997. Most lobbyists work securing and

 protecting tax deductions, shelters, and loopholes for their

 employers.(8)

 

 * Bill Clinton and most Democrats are opposed to a flat tax.(8)

 

 * Taxes we pay, which we may not be aware of, are called "hidden taxes".

 Typically, hidden taxes start out as corporate taxes and are eventually

 passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices.(17)

 

 * As of 1998, there are 30 taxes on a gallon of gas amounting to 54% of

 the final purchase price. There are 18 taxes on a pizza.(17)

 

 * In the 1996 Telecom Bill, there exists language that asks the FCC to

 "enhance" the access of school children to the Internet. The FCC (run by

 political appointees) decided the language in that bill allows them to

 tax the telephone companies in order to pay the cost of wiring schools

 for Internet access.(18) A vote of Congress is required to establish a

 federal tax. Congress did not vote on this.(19)

 

 * The FCC expected the phone companies to absorb this tax. Many phone

 companies defied the FCC and listed the tax as a separate line item on

 the phone bill.(18)(22)

 

 * To administer this program, the FCC created a new bureaucracy. The

 head administrator, Ira Fishman, was assigned a salary of $200,000. The

 total cost of the program would have been about $2.3 billion, costing

 the average household $25/year.(23)

 

 * When Republicans protested, The FCC cut the program to $1.3 billion,

 cutting wealthier schools out of the program and folding the bureaucracy

 into an already existent corporation.(18)

 

 * Al Gore supported this proposal and went on tour with then FCC

 chairman Reed Hundt, speaking about the federal mandate to wire every

 school and library for Internet access.(23) On June 10,1998 Al Gore

 stated "Students in predominately minority schools were 3 times less

 likely to have Internet access than those in predominately white

 schools."(20) On June 8,1998 Al Gore stated, "The e-rate is critical to

 our efforts to put computers in every classroom and library, giving

 every child the tools to succeed." (19) According to the 1997 tax return

 of Al and his wife Tipper, they earned $197,729 and gave $343 to

 charity.(21) ONE OF THE RICHEST MEN IN THE COUNTRY? How does he figure

 he earned a measly 200k? HIS LAND holdings match any Medeival KING!

 

 Sources:

 

 1) McCaslin, John. "Inside The Beltway: Pay to play." Washington Times

 National Weekly Edition, June 8-14, 1998.

 

 2) Tax Foundation Website (www.taxfoundation.org) August 7, 1998.

 

 3) Mitchell, Daniel. "Working for The Man until May 10." Washington

 Times National Weekly Edition, May 18-24, 1998.

 

 4) Pierce, Greg. "Inside Politics: The real stripes." Washington Times

 National Weekly Edition, November 10-16, 1997.

 

 5) Miller, James III. "Clinton budget just doesn't add up." Washington

 Times National Weekly Edition, February 9-15, 1998.

 

 6) Lambro, Donald. "Debunking popular American myths." Washington Times

 National Weekly Edition, September 1-7, 1997.

 

 7) Independent calculations based on data from Source 2

 

 8) Armey, Dick. "Here's a way to flatten taxes." Washington Times

 National Weekly Edition, November 24-30, 1997.

 

 9) Family Research Council. "Tax Limitation Amendment." Legislative

 Hotline, March 6, 1998.

 

 10) The Republican Presidential Task Force. "One Man. One Vote. One

 Betrayal." American In Crisis, 1998.

 

 11) Hallow, Ralph Z. & Godfrey, John. "GOP's tax proposals evoke

 Reagan's." Washington Times National Weekly Edition, January 22-28,

 1998.

 

 12) Akers, Mary Ann & Godfrey, John. "GOP says Clinton spending plan may

 break the budget." Washington Times National Weekly Edition, February

 2-8, 1998.

 

 13) Kudlow, Lawrence. "Republicans should take credit for the budget

 surplus." Washington Times National Weekly Edition, February 2-8, 1998.

 

 14) Project Vote Smart Website (www.vote-smart.org) August 7, 1998.

 

 15) Editorial: "Don't start the celebrations just yet." Washington Times

 National Weekly Edition, January 12-18, 1998.

 

 16) Independent calculations based on data from sources 2 and 15.

 

 17) Pierce, Greg. "Inside Politics: Hidden taxes." Washington Times

 National Weekly Edition, December 29, 1997-January 4, 1998.

 

 18) Editorial: "The Gore tax." Washington Times National Weekly Edition,

 June 22-28, 1998.

 

 19) Kellner, Mark A. "Al Gore's tollbooth on the information

 superhighway." Washington Times National Weekly Edition, June 15-21,

 1998.

 

 20) Kopecki, Dawn. "'Gore tax' is too costly, Senators tell the FCC."

 Washington Times National Weekly Edition, June 15-21, 1998.

 

 21) Pierce, Greg. "Inside Politics: Gore's Reply." Washington Times

 National Weekly Edition, April 27-May 3, 1998.

 

 22) Notice sent by Bell Atlantic Phone Company, received on January 7,

 1998.

 

 23) Pierce, Greg. "Inside Politics: Doesn't get it." Washington Times

 National Weekly Edition, December 15-21, 1997.

 

 24) Lambro, Donald. "A big lie about our 'small' government." Washington

 Times National Weekly Edition, February 16-22, 1998.

 

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