How are tax revenues going up?

[Egalitariat]

If everybody's marginal rates were cut by * (some more than others), how are tax revenues going up?

It's all you read in today's financial news. I don't get it.

[acmejack]

1. Creative accounting probably!

They revise everything else they release later, usually Friday afternoon. Remember the jobless numbers, multiple times, the terror incidents, number of trained Iraqi troops, Pharmaceutical bill cost, to name a few. I don't trust anything these people say.

[Egalitariat]

11. Unlike GDP, jobs, etc. Tax receipts numbers are hard to fake

because they're real dollars in real bank accounts, not estimates or projections, or polls.

[KT2000]

2. Do you mean just federal?

The housing boom is sure raking in the $ for entities that rely on real estate taxes.

[cmd]

3. The alternative minimum tax

It is affecting more people every year.

[papau]

6. The Alt min is reached by decreasing the tax take on the regular tax -

it does not raise "more" money. It just means future tax cuts are a bit more limited.

That is why ending the alt min is yet another tax cut - as the tax cuts that would otherwise be limited lose that limit, and yet even more money is not collected by our income tax.

So more people reaching the alt min does not mean more revenue for the government.

[papau]

4. Corporations had a lot of 35% liability that Bush is taking 20 cents/$ on

So we get a two (government 10/1 to 9/30) fiscal year pops in tax and the Corporations walk away with a few 100 billion as the latest Bush/GOP gift (I am referring to the "special" tax law gift of giving corporations one year (corporate fiscal I believe but I could be wrong as to the definition of "year") to bring back profit that was overseas and had never been taxed either overseas or here - during that year some tiny tax is collected in lieu of the usual 35%)

[snippy]

5. Three reasons.

First, the increase is from a very low level of tax revenue last year. Second, more people are employed this year than last. Third, more large capital gains have been taxed.

[papau]

7. The Bush drop in the cap gain tax means folks can get rid of that tax

liability at a bargain rate.

I did not know folks were making use of that gift to the wealthy but it makes sense that they would.

[snippy]

8. I think more people and businesses chose to realize gains,

particularly from the stock market and from real estate.

[papau]

9. I agree - best to realize gains when there is a full/partial tax holiday!

:-)

[napi21]

10. I have the same question about State revenues.

I know Ga. has been braging about their increased revenues, and I don't know that there's been some job boom here!

The only thing I can think of might be real estate, but those taxes don't go to the state, they go to the municipality where the property is.

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. Sales tax is the other big revenue source

and with the housing boom come more people spending more money. Also tourism brings in a lot of income and at least in FL, tourism is way up at the moment.