GOP’s State Of The Union Responder Would Set Higher Tax Rates On Middle-Class Than Millionaires

[Donnachaidh]

http://thinkprogress.org/?cat=8

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) was announced today as the Republican who will be responding to President Obama’s State of the Union address next week. Ryan has gained a (largely unearned) reputation as a fiscal hawk due to his radical Roadmap for America’s Future, under which the U.S. budget will eventually be balanced (after federal debt surpasses 100 percent of GDP), mostly via privatizing Social Security and Medicare.

According to an analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice, the Roadmap would raise taxes on 90 percent of Americans, while dramatically lowering them for millionaires. In fact, a new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute found that Ryan’s plan would ultimately translate into middle-class tax rates being higher than those for millionaires:

– The Roadmap would lead to the wealthiest Americans paying a lower average tax rate than most Americans. Eliminating taxes on capital gains, dividends, and interest, as the Roadmap proposes, would overwhelmingly help taxpayers at the top of the income distribution, who receive most or all of their income from capital. For example, Wall Street financiers could shelter all of their income as tax-free stock options or carried interest.

– Middle-class families earning between $50,000 and $75,000 a year would see their average tax rate jump to 19.1% (from 17.7%) under this plan—an increase of $900 on average <...>

– Millionaires would see their average tax rate drop to 12.8%, less than half of what they would pay relative to current policy

More at the link ---

[KansDem]

1. WTF???

the Roadmap would raise taxes on 90 percent of Americans, while dramatically lowering them for millionaires. In fact, a new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute found that Ryan’s plan would ultimately translate into middle-class tax rates being higher than those for millionaires

Why? :shrug:

[sakabatou]

3. Because the GOP is in the pocket of corporations who have money to spend

[Initech]

8. It's not just the GOP, it's the whole damn government.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. And millions of lower-middle-class pukes will support it

[silverweb]

4. Then let's get the word out.

It takes them time to absorb any new information, but they CAN eventually be brought around to see reason -- just like with "Obamacare."

The sooner we start shouting it from the rooftops, the sooner we'll start seeing the lightbulbs coming on behind their eyes.

[FiveGoodMen]

5. "just like with Obamacare."

The US is still full of idiots carping about Obamacare.

What makes you think anyone has seen the light on any of this?

[silverweb]

6. Down to about 18% now.

Haven't you heard? As many people who don't like "Obamacare" now dislike it because it doesn't do enough -- and those wanting to repeal it are down to about 18%. It was on Rachel's show and in pieces here at DU all week.

Eugene Robinson has a great piece out today summarizing the polls: It’s Repeal That’s Ailing

The uninformed and misinformed can be very dense and recalcitrant, but given time they can be brought around. Don't give up.

[Faryn Balyncd]

7. K and R. Look out for a bi-partisan agreement to rape the middle class to save tax cuts for the....

....uber-wealthy.


The middle class, who pay the HIGHEST marginal total federal tax rates (income tax + SS + MC), will bear the brunt of the BI-PARTISAN attack on Social Security.

Currently, a middle class family whose highest earner earns under the $106.000 cap on SS tax) pays a marginal income tax rate of 25% plus a 15.3% burden by either SE tax or payroll tax. The total marginal federal tax rate is thus 40.3% on the next dollar earned. Regardless of whether the middle class individual is self-employed, and pays the 15.3% as a SE tax, or whether the middle class individual earns a salary, whereby the tax is collected as 7.65% from both employer and employee, leaving the total unavailable for negotiation for higher salary, the effect is the same.

In contrast to this middle class family who pays a marginal rate of 40.3%, a billionaire pays AT MOST a top marginal federal tax rate of 37.9%, comprised of 35% income tax and 2.9% Medicare tax, since all income over $106,000 is EXEMPT from SS tax. This assumes that the billionaire pays taxes on all income as REGULAR INCOME, which is absurd, since most billionaires will arrange to have most of their income subject to much lower rates (as capital gains, etc) than the rates on "regular income".

Yet the coming attack on SS will feature destroying the SS of millions of MIDDLE INCOME Americans, who will be labeled "affluent", who need SS to supplement retirement savings. The truly rich could not care less about SS, only caring to preserve their favoired status of being taxed at LOWER TAX RATES THAN THE MIDDLE CLASS.







:kick: