This phrase is a "red herring." Who defines what "fair" is? Who winds up being punished the most by their "Share?" What services should government provide for under our Constitution? Why can't our Federal Representatives obey the Constitution? How many services taking your tax dollars are un-Constitutional? When is enough, enough?
I ask everyone to pull out their pay stub [or open your business accounting books] and take a look. On second thought, those of you who are business owners don't have to do that. You are already well aware that you are being skewered. A little exercise is in order [Disclaimer: I am no accountant or tax expert, simply a distraught tax payer].
So ... just for grins: Add up all of the deductions you pay each month for Federal Income Tax , Social Security/Medicare, State Income Tax, and Unemployment Insurance and any other deductions. Think about them. Are these taxes fair? ... are they even Constitutional?
OK. Now examine your "Take-Home Pay." Your "Take-Home Pay" is a quaint term for how much is leftover after the hungry bureaucrats confiscate between 25-50% or more of earnings as taxes and tax withholdings for the Federal, State, and Local governments.
After you take home your "Take-Home Pay" you are finished paying taxes right? Wrong! State and Local Sales Taxes are a charge added onto almost everything you purchase in most States except for food. These can range usually from 3 to 9 percent. That's 3-9% of what is left from your "Take-Home Pay"
But now are you finished? Nope! Now deduct County and Local Property taxes from your "Take-Home Pay." Twice a year, usually, you are privileged to pay a chunk of County Taxes for bureaucrats' bloated salaries. What's left over goes to pay for Public Schools, Teachers, Fire and Ambulance, and Police forces, Roads, Animal Control, etc. The next time you see the Tax Bill, note how much you are sending to your school system and start asking some questions to your school board like: Why are kids doing so poorly on standardized testing, and why are High School drop-out rates so high when we are spending so much?
So Pilgrim ... how much is all of this going to set you back? Let us look at a notional tax payer in the 15% Federal Tax Bracket with a gross yearly Income of $60,000. [I know that you can all find fault with the details in my example. It is not scientific, or particularly well researched. It is a common sense example, so don't nit-pick].
After stripping out roughly 8% for Social Security and Medicare you are now down to $55,200, an Adjusted Gross Income. [I could play with more or fewer numbers for adjustments, dividends, capital gains/losses, etc., but let's keep this simple.] Now deduct $11,400 for a married couple standard deduction [a most "generous gift" deduction from the IRS if you don't itemize], your Taxable Income would be around $43,800. At the 15% rate, your basic Federal Tax could be around $4500-$6500, depending on certain additional tax payments, credits, or other adjustments.
Let us stipulate that you live in a State that will [after a "generous" deduction], confiscate only another 3% [low end] of your "Take-Home Pay" That will be 3% of $43,800. That will be another $1314. Please send your Check to the State Treasure on time to avoid a penalty!
But, "Do not pass go, do not collect any refunds!" just yet. Assume you own a home whose fair market value is $150,000. Most folks would be overjoyed if their County only took $1200 per year from their remaining "Take-Home Pay" for such a nice home. I shall not even add City Taxes as these vary widely.
OK. What is left to live on? Roughly $41,300. Assume that you spend $15,000 on food and drugs, $8000 that year on your mortgage, and you somehow manage to save or invest $4000 per year. That leaves $14,300 that's your right? Wrong. Let's assume your state has a 6% sales tax [much more in many locations]. That will eat another $858.
So let us say that you paid $5000 in Federal Income Taxes, $4800 in Social Security and Medicare Taxes, $1314 in State Income Taxes, $1200 County Property Taxes, and $858 in State and Local Sales Taxes. Your total Tax Bill for the year is $13,172 or 21.9 % of this modest middle class income goes to taxes. Remember that I used low notional rates; this could be much higher for many of you.
Would you notice the total tax bill more if you had to pay it out-of-pocket, and on demand by check or debit every month from funds already in your bank account? Is not the "Withholding" a very stealthy, sneaky way of taking tax revenues from your wages under the guise of "ease?"
If you, in the 15% bracket, pay this much how much more would the "evil rich" pay? How much is enough? Wait until Obamacare kicks in. You have just begun to pay. But go ahead and play with the numbers. Like Jethro Clampett, we learned 'rithmetic' in school; so do your own ciphering. Just remember all kinds of yet unknown taxes will continue to appear over the years if Obama's "Fundamental Transformation" goes unchecked and is not repealed. Oh, and don't forget that corporate tax rates may figure in, and how small business incomes are taxed at personal tax rates. I have assembled rate information from Wikipedia and other Public Data Sources below for your convenience.
The 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33% and 35% tax brackets will be replaced by 15%, 28%, 31%, 36%, and 39.6% brackets. One analyst added 3% for inflation, making the 2011 tax brackets:
| Tax Bracket | Married Filing Jointly | Single |
| 15% Bracket | $0 -- $70,040 | $0 -- $35,020 |
| 28% Bracket | $70,040 -- $141,419 | $35,020 -- $84,872 |
| 31% Bracket | $141,419 -- $215,528 | $84,872 -- $177,006 |
| 36% Bracket | $215,528 -- $384,860 | $177,006 -- $384,860 |
| 39.6% Bracket | Over $384,860 | Over $384,860 |
The capital gains tax rates for long-term capital gains [assets held for one year or more] will rise from 15% to 20%. The 0% rate for those in the lowest tax income tax brackets will rise to 10% long-term capital gains rate.
2010 FICA Tax Rates:
| Tax | Tax Rate | Maximum Wage Base | Maximum Tax |
| Social Security | 6.20% | $106,800 | $6,621.60 |
| Medicare | 1.45% | No limit | No ceiling |
States with the highest sales tax
California (8.75%), Indiana (7%), Mississippi (7%), New Jersey (7%), Rhode Island (7%), Tennessee (7%), Minnesota (6.875%), Nevada (6.85%), Washington (6.5%), Texas and Illinois (6.25%).
A total of 41 states impose income taxes. The Top 10 Highest State Income Taxes: All Obama Blue States
- Hawaii: 11% (income over $400,000 (couple), $200,000 (single))
- Oregon: 11% (income over $500,000 (couple), $250,000 (single))
- California: 10.55% (income over $1 million)
- Rhode Island: 9.9% (income over $373,650)
- Iowa: 8.98% (income over $64,261)
- New Jersey 8.97% (income over $500,000)
- New York: 8.97% (income over $500,000)
- Vermont: 8.95% (income over $373,650)
- Maine: 8.5% (income over $39,549 (couple), $19,749 (single))
- Washington, D.C.: 8.5% (income over $40,000)
U.S. States without a personal income tax
- Alaska -- no personal tax, but has a state corporate income tax.
- Florida -- no personal income tax, but has a corporate income tax (at a 5% rate). The state once had a tax on "intangible personal property" held on the first day of the year (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, etc.), but it was abolished at the start of 2007.
- Nevada -- has no personal or corporate income tax. Nevada gets most of its revenue from gaming and sales taxes.
- New Hampshire -- has an Interest and Dividends Tax of 5%, and a Business Profits Tax of 8.5%.[7]
- South Dakota -- no personal income tax, but has a state corporate income tax on financial institutions.
- Tennessee -- does have tax on income (at a 6% rate) received from stocks and bonds not taxed ad valorem (Tenn. Const Art II, §28). In 1932, the Tennessee Supreme Court struck down a broad-based personal income tax that had passed the General Assembly [Evans vs. McCabe]. However, a number of Attorneys General have recently opined that, if properly worded, an income tax would be found constitutional by today's court. This is due to a 1971 constitutional amendment. (see Tenn. AG Op #99-217, Paul G. Summers [3])
- Texas -- no personal income tax or corporate income tax. In May 2007, the legislature replaced the franchise tax with a gross margins tax on businesses (sole proprietorships and some partnerships were automatically exempt; corporations with receipts below a certain level were also exempt), which was amended in 2009 to increase the exemption level. The Texas Constitution places severe restrictions on passage of a personal income tax and use of its proceeds.
- Washington -- no personal tax, but has a Business and Occupation Tax (B&O) on gross receipts, applied to "almost all businesses located or doing business in Washington." It varies from 0.138% for splitting dried peas to 1.6% for big-time gambling.[8][9]
- Wyoming -- has no personal or corporate income taxes.
U.S. States with a flat rate personal income tax
The following states have a
flat rate personal income tax:
[10]
State income taxes are on top of the federal
income tax, which currently tops out at 35%, as well as payroll taxes (contributions to
Social Security and
Medicare). Therefore, the maximum total rate is 35% of income in the states of
Florida,
Texas, and
Washington, but 44.5% of income in
Vermont and 45.3% in
California[3], in addition to
payroll taxes. However, these figures do not reflect the fact that some state and local taxes (including state income taxes) are
deductible for federal tax purposes.
In addition, some states allow cities and/or counties to impose income taxes above and beyond the federal and state income taxes. An example is
New York City, where there is both a state income tax of up to 6.85%
[4], (8.97% for 2010)
[5] and a city income tax, up to 3.648%
[6]. The maximum rate in the city limits of
New York City (as of 2007) including federal, state, and city taxes is therefore 45.498%, or 1.3 times the 35.0% rate inside "federal income tax only" cities such as
Seattle,
Houston,
Dallas, and
Miami.
Property Taxes. Taxes on land and the buildings on it are the biggest source of revenue for local governments. They are not imposed by states but by the tens of thousands of cities, townships, counties, school districts and other assessing jurisdictions.
As Jethro's uncle, Jed Clampett, used to say, "Whoa Nelly!"
Speaking as a lowly Army Pensioner, it is becoming more difficult to budget on a fixed income. Obama increasing our Health Care costs, inflation, expiration of the 2001 Bush Tax Cuts, and Obama's Cap & Trade taxes all loom heavily on the horizon.
Have we gone completely mad in America? How crazy this all is! A tax cut is always only temporary ... but a tax increase is usually permanent? Obama calls his massive tax increase for the taxpaying Americans our "Fair Share," but he calls it a "Tax Cut" for the 50% of Americans who pay no Income Taxes in the first place? Welcome to Orwellian Newspeak! The wealthiest Americans often have little taxable income, and hire expensive tax lawyers to shelter their fortunes. God bless them! It is the shrinking middle class that gets a "poke in the eye" every time! The biggest casualties are Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners. They are paying are paying the biggest "Fair Share."
I am describing an emerging European-style Socialist Society in America, the result of Obama's relentless "Fundamental Transformation" process. No wonder the Tea Party is growing exponentially, just like your "Fair Share" of taxes is growing. I think there is a level in Dante's Hell awaiting these Socialists who seek to destroy our Founders Dream and Vision! Let's send these Marxist taxers and spenders packing once and for all.
Had enough yet?
