How Stupid Are We?

Obama promised no tax increases on anyone making less that $250,000. a year. It was one of the center pieces of his presidential campaign. The relic media abdicated their jobs and parroted this lie without question. Now we face reality.

After December 31, the death tax will return. Currently at 0% it goes to 55% on estates of $1 million or more.

After December 31, personal income tax brackets will be raised. The lowest bracket moves up 50% from 10% to 15%. The next lowest bracket from 25% to 28%, and the old 28% bracket will be 31%, the 33% bracket is pushed to 36%, and finally the 35% bracket becomes 39.6%.

After December 31, the marriage penalty returns.

After December 31, capital gains tax will jump from 15% to 20%, a 33% increase.

After December 31, the tax on dividends will go all the way from 15% to 39.6% an increase of 164%.

In addition to the taxes above, there are numerous new taxes that have been approved and are in the pipeline.

In 2013 Medicare will go up by 3.8% on those making more that $200,000.

Capital gains and dividend taxes will increase again in 2013.

The child tax credit will be lowered from $1000. to $500.

There are changes coming in how a health savings account can be used, all of which give the government more money, leaving the saver with less.

A new tax will be levied on brand name drugs in 2011 with increases scheduled in subsequent years.

Then there is often ridiculed tanning bed tax.

The Economic Substance Doctrine. This obscure piece of legislation allows the IRS to disallow perfectly legal tax deductions and maneuvers merely because it judges that the deduction or action lacks ‘economic substance.'”

The alternative minimum tax will subject 28.5 million families to the tax when they file next year, up from 4 million this year.

The are changes in the ways business can depreciate equipment, all of which add to the tax burden on business.

According to ATR, there are “literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place,” plus the loss of some tax credits. The research and experimentation tax credit will be the biggest loss, “but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.”

College tuition and fees will no longer be deductable and there will be limits placed on education tax credits.

Teachers won’t be able to deduct their classroom expenses and employer-provided educational aid will be restricted.

Thousands of families will no longer be allowed to deduct student loan interest because they make too much money.

And while Obama vacillates between calling the requirement that every person buy health insurance a mandate or a tax, the effects are the same. Less money in your pocket. There will be 15,000 new IRS agents hired to force compliance.

There’s the tax on Americans who decline to buy health care insurance.

In 2013 there is a 3.8% Medicare tax beginning in 2013 on profits made in real estate transactions by wealthier Americans.

The list goes on and on. Most of the new taxes are purposely obscure and hidden. And I am sure many new ones will be added or discovered as Obamacare, the new banking regulations, and other legislation is passed and implemented.

And the list above does not include and of the thousands of new state and local taxes and fees that will be coming to offset profligate local spending.

Of course the media is silent on the broken promises and the coming tax increases. They don’t want the ignorant peasants to realize what is going on, at least until after the November elections.

Ain’t life grand in Obamaland?

No Free Ride for the Poor

In today’s news was a story that 47% of the people in the country don’t pay income taxes. This makes it sound like they are getting a free ride. In reality they aren’t.

Whenever talking about taxes the statist loving relic media and the political class speak about the income tax only. The fact is that the income tax is only a small part of the taxes levied on all Americans by governments at all levels.

In addition to income taxes, there are all sorts of fees, surcharges, and fines. State income taxes, county and city taxes. There is Medicare,  FICA, Medicaid, unemployment insurance. Most of these taxes are taken out of our pay checks and are visible.  But that is only the beginning.

There are dozens of non-paycheck taxes such as inheritance, property, excise, gas, tobacco and other sin taxes, license plate fees, fishing and hunting licenses, there are at least 6 taxes and surcharges on my phone bill and 3 or 4 on my electric bill. There is a fee when I take trash to the dump, dial 911 or call the fire department. Taxes and landing fees are tacked on to on plane tickets. There are fees when you buy or sell real estate or a car

There are sales taxes every time we buy something. If you drive to fast, too slow, or not straight enough there are fines paid to the government. If I go to court there are court costs. Make a late payment to the IRS and you are fined at least 25%, unless you are Charlie Rangel.

Now that the health care bill has passed, everyone can look forward to even more taxes.  There is a n increase of 4.6% in federal taxes from 35% to 39.6% (expiration of Bush tax cuts),  an increase in capital gains taxes from 15% to 20% (expiration of Bush tax cuts), a new tax of 3.85% on investment income, dividends, rents, royalties mandated in the new health care bill, and an increase in the Medicare payroll tax to 2.35% as mandated in the new health care bill. And this is in addition to the health insurance or fine imposed on everyone in the bill.

So with all of these taxes, fees, and fines, even the noble poor are paying huge amounts of money to the government. They are not getting a free ride. The only ones getting a free ride are governments at all levels.

The Rebirth of Slavery

Headline from the news yesterday:

Reid Compares Opponents of Health Care Reform to Supporters of Slavery Reid Compares Opponents of Health Care Reform to Supporters of Slavery

Reid and the statists in Washington are not really opposed to slavery. They are only opposed to slavery if the slaves are owned by private individuals. When the government owns the slaves, there is nothing wrong with the peculiar institution.

On the face of it that sounds like a ridiculous statement, I know. But let me point out a few facts. Most people pay 40% or more of their income in taxes to all levels of government. This includes income tax, FICA, Medicare, unemployment insurance, state and local taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, property taxes, etc. etc. This does not include embedded taxes and taxes that are passed along by business to consumers. If you are paying 40% of your income in taxes, that means you are spending 40% of your working life, in involuntary servitude to the government.

In addition to demands on your income, governments regulate ever increasing portions of your behavior. Many of the regulations are non intrusive, and most people are in favor of them. But every day government institutions are passing laws and writing regulations. Each one restricts the freedom and liberty of the people.

Now there are several huge tax bills working their ways through congress. We will be working for the government more than 40% of our time. Soon we will have no money and our freedom will be a distant memory. We will be slaves to the government.