Sludge: Bush Budget Director Brags of Shifting Tax Burden to the Rich

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3jb.htm

The White House budget director Josh Bolten on Monday bragged to reporters how the nation most-wealthy will see an increase in tax burden under Bush's new budget.

"If you look at the president's tax cuts as a totality, the income tax, those at the upper end of the spectrum are now paying a larger share of the income tax than they were before," Bolten explained.

"An example, the top 5 percent in income in this country -- that's people making above about $140,000 -- without the president's tax cuts that top 5 percent would be paying about less than 52 percent of our total income tax revenue.

"After the president's tax cut that group is paying more than 54 percent of our total tax revenue. So the notion that the president's tax cuts have somehow made the code less progressive is wrong. The president's tax cuts have made the tax code more progressive."

That's all - you don't have to dirty your PC by linking. Sludge has the rest as developing....

[w13rd0]

1. Interesting number juggling...

...and so sincere too. If it's 52% in one case and 54% in another, is the revenue the same in both? What, it isn't? RIGHT...

[Warpy]

5. Translation: more people are unemployed and underemployed

making the total tax share of the working class appear to decline, when it's the absolute income of the working class that is declining, and hence the total tax amount paid by working people is declining.

The rich still have their tax giveaways. The poorer and middle class are still paying an unconscionably high rate, especially when you add in that 40% of FICA that is being embezzled.

Drudge is hurting you. Please stop reading his garbage.

[papau]

10. It is bullshit- If FIT drops from 60% of Federal Revenue to 50%, as payrol

rises from 30% to 40%,

if the rich in the pre-Bush days paid 30% of FIT, and 0.00001% of payroll tax, they paid 18% of the cost of government.

And post Bush they paid 32% of FIT and .oooo1% of payroll - the rich pay 16% of the cost of government!

They pay a higher portion of FIT, but a lesser proportion of the cost of government - meaning lesser dollars.

[w4rma]

2. fuzzy math. (nt)

[stray cat]

3. The roll back of estate taxes and capital gains are not included

They only effect the wealthy. This guy is full of crap.

[bluestateguy]

4. That's quite an excercise in statistical gymnastics

When you have no job creation and stagnant wages throughout the economy then those other 95% of Americans will be paying less in taxes. As the rich get richer at the same time, then indeed their share of the overall tax burden will increase by a paltry 2%.

Nice try Josh.

[tsuki]

6. My reply...the top 1% own 40% of the nation's wealth, they should

be paying 40% of the taxes.

[qwghlmian]

7. Here is the breakdown:

http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=5324&sequence=0

As of 2001:

Share of total federal tax liabilities (this includes income tax, Social Security taxes and Medicare, Corporate income tax and Federal excise taxes)

Top 1% of households pay 22.7% of all federal taxes
Top 5% of households pay 38,5% of all federal taxes
Top 10% of households pay 50% of all federal taxes
Top 20% of households pay 65.3% of all federal taxes

Share of individual income taxes:

Top 1% of taxpayers pay 34.4% of federal income taxes
Top 5% of taxpayers pay 55.2% of federal income taxes
Top 10% of taxpayers pay 67.7% of federal income taxes
Top 20% of taxpayers pay 83.5% of federal income taxes

[tsuki]

11. Does it include capital gains?

[qwghlmian]

13. Yes it does -

look in the link I gave. "Corporate income taxes were assumed to be borne by owners of capital. CBO allocated corporate tax liabilities to households in proportion to their income from interest, dividends, rents, and capital gains.

[tx_dem41]

12. Presently (actually 2002), the wealthiest 1% pay...

about 35% of the taxes. So its not as far off as you think.

[goondogger]

8. Borrowing from Jon Stewart . . .

Wha wha whaaat?

*rubs eyes*

*blink* *blink*

[baby_bear]

9. Bolten refers to income taxes only

Try including payroll taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes, property taxes....and then figure in the breaks for the wealthy's dividends, the break on the estate tax, loopholes from income taxes for deductions the average person would never qualify for...I'm sure I'm forgetting something here but the math clearly comes out such that the middle class and below carry the tax burdens of this country, both in percentage of income and total. Oh, and I forgot corporate welfare.

Bolten is such a transparent jerk.

b_b

[PurityOfEssence]

14. So? If they're making lots more than before, and others are making less

the rich could easily be providing a greater percentage of the revenue and still be getting taxed at a lower rate than before or than they should be. This is classic "lying with statistics".

If the top 5% are making ALL the money and everyone else is unemployed, he can crow that ONLY the rich are supporting society.

Lest we forget, too, this is only income tax, it's not FICA or anything else.

If you want real statistics, you have to talk about "total taxation" and compare that between groups during different administrations.

The rich are paying less taxes, the poor are paying more, and services are being cut in every way.

Calling Paul Krugman...