Anyone ever hear this thug talking point: " top 10% pay 70% of the taxes?"

[Peregrine Took]

Another canard,I'm sure.

[Sherman A1]

1. Well, they make most of the money

so, even if this number is true. They can jolly well pay more.

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

2. because they make 80% of the income ???

[hfojvt]

16. no they don't

actually Somerby covered this issue pretty good just yesterday http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh092410.shtml#FOLLY

[Brother Buzz]

3. Warren Buffett might dispute that

[bbinacan]

4. That number is

about right.

[napi21]

5. It's TRUE, however, do you think WM or Target pay more tax dollars than

your local hardware store? OF course you say! Well, it's the same phylosophy as the rich paying the most tax dollars. Now if someone says the rich pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes THAT my dear, is a completely different story! They DON'T! That is what Beffett was getting at when he said his secretary pays more than he does.

[Hannah Bell]

6. basically true for income taxes, but: ask them what percent of their income they pay in taxes.

capital gains - 10-15%, lower than the average rate on labor income.

the richer you are, the less % you pay, for various reasons.

in my state every purchase except grocery food is taxed at about 8% off the top, & the poorest person pays that tax.

[Scuba]

7. Bingo.

[JackRiddler]

8. Conveniently leaves out payroll taxes. Another big lie.

First of all, those who earn the income pay the income tax, no shit.

However, more is raised by FICA and Medicare charges than by income tax. Furthermore, these charges produce an annual surplus, such that the Social Security trust fund now stands at $2.6 trillion dollars, all of which has been leant to the US government (in the form of T-bills purchased) to finance the deficits of the last 30 years. In other words, the regressive payroll taxes pay for the regular government budget, because income tax is insufficient.

[WCGreen]

9. Yea but they have a lot more to lose if there wasn't a strong international

military, the court system which is almost totally dedicated to business protecting their assets, the public school systems gives them an educated work force, a good safety system protects their assets, the FAA allow them to fly all over the place to enjoy their riches, the transportation system allows them to ship their products easily across state lines, then their is the military that secures their foreign investments so yea, they should pay more, a lot more than us normal schlubs who have far less to lose if the shit hits the fan...

[BlueCheese]

10. I forget what the exact number is...

... but it's generally true, if we're talking about federal income taxes.

Given that we have a progressive tax structure, the top 10% will generally make X% of the money and pay Y% of the taxes. X is much larger than 10, of course, but Y is larger than X.

[billlll]

11. what is the fed budget this year?

Thanks

[BlueCheese]

12. What do you mean?

What federal spending will be this year, or where the taxes will come from?

[billlll]

13. total planned spending

Don't need sources

Thanks!

[old mark]

14. They also have 90% of the money....nt

[bluerum]

15. Mathematically challenged people find this hard to believe. I make $10,000/year

and pay 10% - or $1000.

My neighbor makes $1,000,000/year and pays 10% or $100,000.

Total tax revenue - $101,000.

$100,000 is 90% (roughly) of the tax revenue.

Simple math hiding tax inequity. The fools eat it up.

[TBF]

17. They should - they control at least that much of the wealth. nt