Which half are you? Pay or recieve?

[chicagodisneyfan]

I made more in 2009 than I ever have (I am in my 40s).

I do not mind that some people pay nothing in income tax.

It is part of what makes America great - give us your tired. your poor etc.


No way in hell would I ever want to be in the half that does not pay taxes! I will take my cushy life thank you very much.

 

[luvsJack]

Now I pay. Years ago I received. I promise you I would much rather pay.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I find it fundamentally unfair that some carry more of the burden than others. While I do not think that everyone should pay an equal amount I do think that everyone should contribute. I know that we are fortunate to have a steady living income, I have no problem paying taxes to help support those whose income is not enough to live on. And honestly, after all of the taxes are taken from my DH paycheck......we are NOT making far more than anyone.

Unfair?
The top 20% make 62% of all income. The bottom 80% make 38%.

The top 20% has something like 85% of all net worth - while the bottom 80% has a lousy 15%.

 

[MomRN]

I'll fess up to the as part of the received. Has been that way a few years while in nursing school, having a baby, scraping by on part-time jobs and my husband being laid off, called back, laid off, etc.

Now that I'm out of school, and making decent money, I suppose we will probably pay next year... though now he is in school and we are still living off one income. So I'm really not sure how it will work out.

 

[BunsenH]

I made more in 2009 than I ever have (I am in my 40s).

I do not mind that some people pay nothing in income tax.

It is part of what makes America great - give us your tired. your poor etc.


No way in hell would I ever want to be in the half that does not pay taxes! I will take my cushy life thank you very much.

I'm with you.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I'm with you.

thanks - I thought I was alone on this one!

 

[BunsenH]

thanks - I thought I was alone on this one!

And I neglected to say that I am very grateful to be fortunate enough to have this attitude.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I made more in 2009 than I ever have (I am in my 40s).

I do not mind that some people pay nothing in income tax.

It is part of what makes America great - give us your tired. your poor etc.


No way in hell would I ever want to be in the half that does not pay taxes! I will take my cushy life thank you very much.

I'm with you, too.

 

[Pakey]

I'm very grateful to be in a high tax bracket. I do not mind supporting those who are not.

 

[iwrbnd]

Pay and pay A LOT!

 

[bethy]

We always plan for small refund b/c we don't want to be unpleasantly surprised in April. But we PAY a TON in income taxes!

 

[blanq]

Are people not understanding this poll? The answers being posted make me think not. The poll relates to the fact that half of us in the U.S. pay federal taxes and the other half pays none. The poll does not relate to whether you end up getting a refund or paying Uncle Sam come April 15th.

Yes, I am in the half that pay taxes, and because of increased income I moved into a new tax bracket last year so I now pay more taxes. I am happy to have the income I do, and I am happy to pay my share of taxes. It is a bit disconcerting though to learn that 50% of our country is supporting 100% of it.

 

[shortbun]

We happily pay. Seriously. Consider the alternatives.

 

[Acklander]

Yes, I am in the half that pay taxes, and because of increased income I moved into a new tax bracket last year so I now pay more taxes. I am happy to have the income I do, and I am happy to pay my share of taxes. It is a bit disconcerting though to learn that 50% of our country is supporting 100% of it.

I understand the poll, and I understand how taxes work. Don't worry, 50% of the country ISN"T supporting 100% of it, because the poll only talks about Income tax. Those that don't pay federal income tax still pay other taxes (i.e. Social security, sales tax etc...)

also,something to consider, there are many who don't pay income tax but do pay rent - part of that rent payment goes towards the property tax. So, the landlord who owns the property gets to deduct the property taxes, the mortgage payments, AND depreciate the property, yet collects the money from those expenses from the tenant who gets painted with the "he never pays any taxes so I'm supporting him" brush. When I did taxes pretty much everyone who owned rental property was able to take a tax write off from their income resulting in paying much less in taxes than they would have, if they didn't have the rental property.

 

[Kim&Chris]

We're also in the paying half of the US.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I wonder if part of the reason that 1/2 of the country is paying taxes while the other 1/2 is not has something to do with the way the tax code is structured.

Of course it does. I only skimmed the article, but didn't it say it was the combination of low income, deductions and credits that resulted in some Americans having no tax liability or getting back more than they paid in? All those variables are purposefully provided for in the Internal Revenue Code for specific reasons.

 

[sbell111]

Wow. The political threads are squeaking through lately.

 

[blanq]

I understand the poll, and I understand how taxes work. Don't worry, 50% of the country ISN"T supporting 100% of it, because the poll only talks about Income tax. Those that don't pay federal income tax still pay other taxes (i.e. Social security, sales tax etc...)

also,something to consider, there are many who don't pay income tax but do pay rent - part of that rent payment goes towards the property tax. So, the landlord who owns the property gets to deduct the property taxes, the mortgage payments, AND depreciate the property, yet collects the money from those expenses from the tenant who gets painted with the "he never pays any taxes so I'm supporting him" brush. When I did taxes pretty much everyone who owned rental property was able to take a tax write off from their income resulting in paying much less in taxes than they would have, if they didn't have the rental property.

Yes, I get that it's about federal income taxes (and not other state taxes, property taxes, sales tax) and mentioned that in the first part of my post. I still am amazed at the 50% number. Others were responding to this post about having to make a payment to the IRS, and that made me think they were confused about the poll. That's all. And, as I already said, I am happy to pay my share.

 

[SaraJayne]

I've been both and let me tell you, it's a heck of a lot nicer to be in the paying camp.

IMO, those that make more should pay more. And we also went up a tax bracket this year, so we got to pay extra.

 

[NHdisneylover]

We pay German taxes (much higher than what we paid in the USA) on all of our income (even from renting our house out in the USA) and US taxes on part of it was well--so we get hit twice. It is a bit daunting, but we get a lot from our tax dollars here in Germany, and I hope that those i send to the US are helping people out there as well. I would much rather be paying than not.