Simple bailout idea: Audit the rich.

[tridim]

Give them all the Daschle treatment and then adjust working-class taxes downward accordingly.

Just make them pay their taxes, it's that simple!

[Mike 03]

1. It's not the rich, it's just the fucking politicians. NT

[G_j]

6. Richest Americans’ Income Doubled as Tax Rate Slashed

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aOTRqZpdyxz4&refer=us

Richest Americans’ Income Doubled as Tax Rate Slashed (Correct)

By Ryan J. Donmoyer

(Corrects math error in first paragraph of story that ran Jan. 30 to show tax rate fell by a quarter, not a third.)

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The average tax rate paid by the richest 400 Americans fell by a quarter to 17.2 percent through the first six years of the Bush administration and their average income doubled to $263.3 million, new IRS data show.

The 17.2 percent tax rate in 2006 was the lowest since the IRS began tracking the 400 largest taxpayers in 1992, although the richest 400 Americans paid more tax on an inflation-adjusted basis than any year since 2000.

The drop from 2001’s tax rate of 22.9 percent was due largely to ex-President George W. Bush’s push to cut tax rates on most capital gains to 15 percent in 2003.

Capital gains made up 63 percent of the richest 400 Americans’ adjusted gross income in 2006, or a combined $66.1 billion, according to the data. In all, the 400 wealthiest Americans reported a combined $105.3 billion of adjusted gross income in 2006, the most recent year for which the IRS has data.

“The big explosion in income for this group is clearly on the capital gains side, although there are also sharp increases in dividend and interest income,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic Policy and Research in Washington.

In addition, “they are realizing more of their gains due to the lower tax rate,” Baker said.

..more..

[karynnj]

19. So, have you doine audits for a sample of rich people

The sheer complexity of the forms when you have the types of income they have can lead to errors.

[Bonobo]

2. i bet we'd turn up a pretty big pile of loot all right. nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. YES! nt

[RoccoR5955]

4. DING DING DING DING DING DING! We have a winnah!

Yeah, they are the biggest cheats. Maybe the IRS should do an AUTOMATIC audit on anyone who grosses over, let's say, a million a year!

[Donnachaidh]

18. nah -- set it at a quarter of a million

Cheaters happen at those levels, too.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

5. This Daschle episode has really made me wonder how common

place it is for the wealthy to not only use tax loopholes, but withhold paying taxes all together.

You are really on to something here. I'm pissed as hell by this entire matter.

[stillcool]

11. They don't have to withhold paying taxes..

the tax laws are written by them and for them. They have whole accounting firms do their taxes. Is everyone that gets audited and is found to owe back taxes a tax cheat, or a law breaker?

[tridim]

15. I'd rather they be forced to pay. We need the revenue.

[newtothegame]

21. I don't think we need the revenue. We need to reexamine priorities.

When people are being taxed at as high of rates as they are, their should be PLENTY of money for the government to perform it's basic functions.

[karynnj]

20. IIn Daschle's case it was not tax loopholes or not paying

the problem started because he had one incorrect 1099, not including $80,000 for a speech and a missing 1099 for the value of the care and driver.

This does suggest that other people making the type of income from various sources like Daschle was could easily be missing income on which they should be paying taxes. Now, in most of our cases with one or two W2s and a small number of 1099s for investments, we would miss something not there.

[Aaron1212]

7. very true

but if only it were that simple and there wasn't the bleeding heart minority of uber-rich republicans there to stop it.

[Lint Head]

8. Feed the hungry. Eat the rich.

:dem:

[SmileyRose]

23. Eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww

Can you imagine the stench that would come off the stove when you cook the predator class people? And what do you do with all the grease left behind? The smell alone would be so bad you'd probably have to replace all the drywall...........






edited because I know rich people who would probably be very tasty. :)

[AwakeAtLast]

9. I think that might just help the deficit

dontcha think? :D

[satya]

10. CTJ proposes one-time 35% tax on off-shored corporate income, then they repatriate w/o addtl taxes.

http://www.ctj.org/pdf/repatriation.pdf

estimated to raise as much as $350 billion.

[stillcool]

12. How much money did that woman make....

that withdrew her name today?

[H2O Man]

13. Thank you.

Nominated.

[robinlynne]

14. exactly!!! and the pentagon. 3 trillion missing that we KNOW OF.

[Fireweed247]

17. ya!

Give us our money back! That is a huge portion of our current debt.

[glinda]

16. I would also like to see the businesses that haven't paid, pay up. We have to pay.

[SmileyRose]

22. The IRS does not have time for this

they are too busy auditing my Uncle over $124 discrepancy between what the disability insurance claims he got and what he claims he got (he had to pay them back $124 for some reason and deducted it). The IRS has probably spent about $500 in wages for the auditor to go after the $15 they say my Uncle owes them. It would be easier to just pay it but Uncle says he's right and they can go eat bugs.