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Official 2011 US Income Tax Brackets (IRS Tax Rates)
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With every new year comes a “little” tweaking of income taxes and this year is no different. Three weeks ago, we didn’t what was going to happen to our tax rates since Congress had yet to act on the expiring Bush era tax cuts. With the clock winding down, they opted to extend them by two years and so the only change you’ll see is an adjustment for inflation.
This year we’ll be presenting them a little differently. Some readers are here just to find out their marginal tax rate and others want to find out how much in taxes they’ll be paying. So this year you’ll see a listing of all the marginal tax rates first, followed by a breakdown of taxes due (without accounting for deductions and other adjustments).
2011 IRS Tax Brackets
Here are the 2011 tax tables, which make it easy to find which marginal tax bracket you are in:
| Tax Bracket | Single | Married Filing Jointly | Head of Household |
| 10% Bracket | $0 – $8,500 | $0 – $17,000 | $0 – $12,150 |
| 15% Bracket | $8,500 – $34,500 | $17,000 – $69,000 | $12,150 – $46,250 |
| 25% Bracket | $34,500 – $83,600 | $69,000 – $139,350 | $46,250 – $119,400 |
| 28% Bracket | $83,600 – $174,400 | $139,350 – $212,300 | $119,400 – $193,350 |
| 33% Bracket | $174,400 – $379,150 | $212,300 – $379,150 | $193,350 – $379,150 |
| 35% Bracket | $379,150+ | $379,150+ | $379,150+ |
Tax Preparation Packages
Remember that these are brackets after you take into account deductions, credits, and the thousand other “little things” the IRS has cleverly hidden in their enormous codified tax law. Fortunately, there are plenty of inexpensive tax preparation packages out there, many of which are free to low income earners, to help you along. Here are just a few:
Tax Preparation Packages
| Company | Package | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Intuit |
TurboTax Deluxe | $49.95 |
Free for 1040EZ &low income, Deluxe imports last year’s return, full Form 1040 filing. Free e-file. |
 2nd Story Software |
TurboAct Deluxe | $9.95 |
Free for 1040EZ & low income, Deluxe + State for $17.95, Deluxe includes all IRS forms. Free e-file. |
 H & R Block |
Deluxe | $49.95 |
Free for 1040EZ & low income, Deluxe for homeowners & investors, Free e-file. |
 Petz Enterprises |
TurboBrain Deluxe | $39.95 |
1040EZ for $14.95, 1040 Deluxe for $39.95, Tax Expert available at $129.95. |
Taxes Due
If you are trying to calculate your taxes due, these tables may be more helpful. Remember that taxes are due on your adjusted income after accounting for deductions and other adjustments.
Single Filers
These tables are for single filers who are not surviving spouses or heads of household:
| Taxable Income | Tax |
| $0 – $8,500 | 10% of taxable income |
| $8,500 – $34,500 | $850 plus 15% of excess over $8,500 |
| $34,500 – $83,600 | $4,750 plus 25% of excess over $34,500 |
| $83,600 – $174,400 | $17,025 plus 28% of excess over $83,600 |
| $174,400 – $379,150 | $42,449 plus 33% of excess over $174,400 |
| $379,150+ | $110,016.50 plus 35% of excess over $379,150 |
Married & Surviving Spouses
These tables are for married filing jointly or surviving spouses:
| Taxable Income | Tax |
| $0 – $17,000 | 10% of taxable income |
| $17,000 – $69,000 | $1,700 plus 15% of excess over $17,000 |
| $69,000 – $139,350 | $9,500 plus 25% of excess over $69,000 |
| $139,350 – $212,300 | $27,087.50 plus 28% of excess over $139,350 |
| $212,300 – $379,150 | $47,513.50 plus 33% of excess over $212,300 |
| $379,150+ | $102,574 plus 35% of excess over $379,150 |
Head of Household
These tax tables are for those considered Heads of Household:
| Taxable Income | Tax |
| $0 – $12,150 | 10% of taxable income |
| $12,150 – $46,250 | $1,215 plus 15% of excess over $12,150 |
| $46,250 – $119,400 | $6,330 plus 25% of excess over $46,250 |
| $119,400 – $193,350 | $24,617.50 plus 28% of excess over $119,400 |
| $193,350 – $379,150 | $45,323.50 plus 33% of excess over $193,350 |
| $379,150+ | $106,637.50 plus 35% of excess over $379,150 |
Married Filing Separately
These are tax tables for those filing as Married Filing Separately:
| Taxable Income | Tax |
| $0 – $8,500 | 10% of taxable income |
| $8,500 – $34,500 | $850 plus 15% of excess over $8,500 |
| $34,500 – $69,675 | $4,750 plus 25% of excess over $34,500 |
| $69,675 – $106,150 | $13,543.75 plus 28% of excess over $69,675 |
| $106,150 – $189,575 | $23,756.75 plus 33% of excess over $106,150 |
| $189,575+ | $51,287 plus 35% of excess over $189,575 |
With the passage of the Bush era tax cut extension, these brackets aren’t much different than the 2010 tax brackets after an adjustment for inflation.
If you want to learn more, you can check out the always fun to read IRS Revenue Procedure 2011-12.
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I don’t understand why the Federal taxes are so high for middle class incomes and what is this federal income tax revenue spent on?
What the media is providing in term of public education is fragmented information. Educate the public so everone has a clear picture: money in, money out and where and what causes the shortfall. What is the major expense contributing to a federal budget deficit. And do not attach the people’s Medicare and Social Security benefits. People worked and paid for these all their lives and should have been invested and managed wisely so when the workers reaches their retiring age the money to secure their lives were their.
We keep paying taxes and the dollar amounts are huge and there is never money for quality public education, investing in infrastructure to name a few.
Compare this country to other succesful nations with a democratic government and ask what can be improved.
The Federal government draws most of its revenue (more then 1/3) from income tax. What we need is JOBS. High paying jobs. 101 economics and I am not an economist.
And this make sound like a pep peeve (and probably is) but CEOs compensation is outrageous. Everyone says that physicians make a lot of money but no one says that this corporation and that corporation CEO makes a lot of money. They did not go to school more then an MD had (think seven plus years and $300k in school loans) and they are not putting in more hours or have more job responsibilities then an MD. Then how can their annual and severance packages in the millions range be justified. Are they any better then a neuro-surgeon or the president of the US?
I completley agree with the comment above. It is that kind of greed from the wealthy and powerful that is bleeding our nation dry! It is INSANE how the tax bracket jumps 10% higher at $34500 and yet you would have to make 11 times that for it to jump that high agan. Anyone see a problem with that? And if something is not done about it soon it will be the downfall of this once great nation of ours. You would think there would be strength enough in numbers to stop this but thanks to the dumbing down of our nation, starting with our public education, not enough people are willing to do what it takes.
You dont’ know what you are talking about. Salaries and wages are determined by supply and demand…they are not based on greed or some secret society so get over yourselves about how much one person makes compared to another. It is good for someone to make lots of money. Something else you dont’ understand is there is not only so much money to go around…wealth is created and destoryed by various actions. There is no limit to the amount of wealth that can be created. What you make has nothing to do with what someone elswe makes…it has to do with what others are willing to pay you for what you be it working for a salary or making a product/service and selling it. America is great because people like you who want Communism which is to tell eveyone what they can do and how much they can make haven’t had their way…yet. Go to a country that limits success and see how well off the average person is. You are greedy for wanting more than a free trading society is willing to pay you for your work.
Put the politicians on minimum wage and see how fast they fix this problem.
I totally agree with you Chris lets put them where we americans are and see how well they can live life also do the same with celebrities who make millions of $dollars per movie
Jordan- Do you own any dvd’s or vhs tapes? Have you ever gone to a movie theater? Idiot! Read Arabias comments. You want these people to not have so much money, stop using their products, idiot
Yes, i agree!!!! walk just one week in a true americans shoes, work to be broke, you got a job — no help for you.
I agree. It’s funny how those people in congress who complain about how much someone makes in the private sector never offer to take a pay cut ” for the good of the American people” who happen to be the ones paying their salary. Now that’s what I would call “eating your peas”
No, don’t put them on minimum wage, else they not only will not have to pay taxes, they’ll get everything else Scot-free!!!!
I totally agree of what you said. You hit the nail on the head.
I was agreeing to Arabia.The comment Arabia wrote is so true.
I’m not sure if what Arabia wrote is “so” true. Business these day do tend to be in a cycle of spending more to make more. Business men these day don’t really take the millions they have and save it, they use it to make more money. And recently inflation has been raising at a higher rate then wages and gdp per capita are. I do agree that there is no limit to our money though. I mean we have $15trillion debt and we’re still rising so we can basically have all the money we want. And communism actually looks great on paper but once bringing in the human factor is what sets it apart. And I’m pretty sure communists aren’t taking over the US anytime soon. Hahaha and our public education has almost nothing to do with our economy. But I would agree on taxing everyone more, not necessarily the rich (probably the rich more so though) instead of putting the burden of this on are lower and middle class when our upper class is doing just fine even with this rate of taxation.
I believe that Congressmen and Senators should make what his or her average wage in their district is.
You, sir, are clueless.
I agree with you except.
Salaries and wages are NOT determined by supply and demand in America we have a minimum wage which by definition means that the normal process of supply and demand are ignored.
Also It is GOOD for someone to make lots of money, but only if they are increasing their standard of living or gaining ‘value’ which more money implies. Since 1913 the FED has through inflation devalued our dollar to about 3 CENTS of what it was worth then. Every time the government increases the debt limit and spends more money that they have to print into existance, there is no value to those dollars, and no value added to the economic system. Therefore the basic concept of supply and demand take effect, and since the supply of dollars increases, vendors require more of it – translated, this means that prices on all our products go up, your food costs go up, your fuel goes up, your utilities go up, and since the base price goes up, your sales tax on all items goes up. This is the invisible tax, the amount that we have to pay extra for our food since the dollar is not worth as much as it was, it is what is truly draining the American people’s money. We need to get back on the gold/silver standard so our fiat- fake money is tied to a tangible asset and the government is forced to keep to it’s budget and manage it’s finances the way a household must. As long as they can just print imaginary money they will continue to run away with the gluttonous government we now have.
You are wrong this countries infrastructure was built on taxes on the wealthy. Up until the sixties and seventies the tax rate for the top 1% was hovering around 90% and all were thriving. Now the tax rate is 35% and there are no jobs and the middle class is disappearing thanks to outsourcing our jobs so corporations can pay little wages and still charge the same for products you and i use to build. Get your facts strait you sheep.
I can’t believe how dumb people like Lee are. Look up the IRS tax rates at the Irs site, and stop exhibiting how dumb you really are. People like Lee aren’t interested in the truth, just Liberal biasis and nonsence. Who are the employers in this country? How many poor people are hiring these days? Wise up, these peoples money does NOT belong to you. Get a job and off the public dole, IDIOT!!!
Lee,
You should be happy you can make all that extra money before jumping to a new tax bracket.
The opportunity is there. Carpe Diem!
What is it a about percentages you don’t comprehend? As income goes up you pay more. Make less and you pay less. We also have a progressive tax code insuring that those with more do, in fact, pay a BIGGER portion of their earnings. If you want to complain about the code you should look into the deductions (income reducers) that are available primarily to the high income earners. You head will really blow off you shoulders. One example – if you screw up and lose money in your business you can use the losses to reduce FUTURE earned income. I know failed business owners who have not paid any taxes for years and years. Where this particularly messed up is when someone declares bankrupcy. They not only ripped off the folks they won’t pay through the bankruptcy process, they will use the losses to reduce future income tax liability. What’s the answer? A new tax code- fair tax or flat tax.
If 10% is good enough for God, why does the government need 25, 28, 33 and 35%
how many roads does god pay to build?
Many more than Obama ever did 1 trillion later. His road is the one you choose to travel not a road or a bridge to nowhere.
The bridge to nowhere was a creation of the Bush Administration and Sarah Palin.
All of them. And all the food you eat comes from Him. So does the cloth on your back and the roof over you head. And He lets me keep 90% of all that he has given me and only asks for 10% of it. And every time I have given Him more than that 10%, He always gives me more. I try and try to out give Him but He always gives me more. And if I dont give him that 10%, He doesnt send His goons out after me to collect it.
You mean the church. The church set it at 10%. And there’s a separation of church and state so your comment is irrelevant. Your pastor/priest is not god. He’s a regular person just like you. You’re the idiot whose paying an additional 10% of your income to “god”. Does your god use money? No, but the greedy mainstream religion sure does. There’s a reason why the catholic church is the richest organization in the world. THE WORLD, and what have they done to show for it except for skipping out on paying taxes and trying to convert people so that they can steal even more $. If anything people should be questioning why church’s are allowed to be considered a non profit when they not only make a profit but are separated from the government. They’re the biggest criminal. 10% of their billions of dollars would sure help out.
And God has Goons!?!?
Mind=Blown
I didn’t know God built a road.
Hi Nutstuyu.
10% is good enough for God because God did not put our nation nearly $15 trillion in debt.
Gods military budget is much smaller.
And how would that accomplished, if your government keeps spending money on things like interventions in other countries, fights ghosts and unknown zombies and everything communist to capitalist to islamasist
Massive government corruption at its finest from the VERY top down – plain and simple. Started way back when, with the Rothschild’s and the Rockefellers’ – today it’s now called socialism!
There is so much to reply to in these last comments I’m not sure where to start. I see higher education is still pushing socialism. The constitution guarantees equal opportunity not equal outcome. HOW is it that 50% pay no taxes and that is fair, and we still think the rich are the sole reason many aren’t doing well in this country. Take some personal responsibility for goodness sakes. “Give me Give me Give me” is all that is heard in today’s America. I come from poor folks from Mississippi. They didn’t think it was the governments job or business to try and influence the “outcome” of our futures. The rich, the job creators, are not the problem. Their success does not mean you can’t be successful. Envy is the term I believe. I don’t have less because some other person has more. We are suppose to be a free country. You can make as much money or as little as you care to, whether or not someone else is doing better or worse than you. Taxes have been a political tool more so than ever before. The “government” takes so it can give, right? Wrong. The government has no right to take from some to give to others. There are very specific and Constitutionally limited responsibilities the Federal government ALLOWED to do. Giving politically motivated hand outs isn’t one of them. While some are genuinely worried for there fellow American who they feel need help, it isn’t the Federal Governments job to take from others to give to who it decides. If you want to give, that’s the local level government’s place, where the local people can choose and not choose to participate. Cities and state elections can really make a decision and, likewise, change their minds very quickly. Not the Federal level where you have little chance of impacting change. That’s why our Constitution limits the Federal Government and give more power to the states. It’s socialism, from it’s beginnings (Woodrow Wilson, FDR etc.) that have continued to degrade our freedoms and our country. Thank God there have been the “Super Rich” or we would have never been the most prosperous country the world has ever known. I’ll never be one of them, but then again, I would never put the effort into it or have the talent to be one.
But I don’t want the Federal Government giving me anything or taking things from me. Now it’s too much tax, I can’t choose my light bulbs, toilet tank size or my SUV. Soon it’ll be what I can say or not say, what religion is ok, or any number of other things we take for granted.
Grow up. Time to cut those apron strings and get on with life.
This is the first post that makes any sense.
There is no point in complaining about the high tax percentages when you still fundamentally agree with the philosophy behind them taking it.
I still have not heard a well reasoned argument why the Federal Government has the right to take my money and decide how to spend it on charitable giving.
The Federal government prints your money. Don’t you forget it.
Actually, No. The Federal Government does NOT print our money, the Federal Reserve (which is neither “Federal” nor a “Reserve”, but rather is privately owned) does! The Government only mints the coins, not the paper money. Either way the currency has been fraudulently debased and as happens with all fiat currency will resolve to its intrinsic value… ZERO. They need to have a debased currency and inflation in order to pay for the massive debt that has fraudulently been created with money that is worth less… ummmm… worthless… either way. So…
Don’t you forget that!
Anymouse hit the nail on the head. The real problem is the Federal Reserve and fiat currency. Money is created out of debt. To pay the debt, more debt money must be created. The debt can never be paid! Your tax dollars go to pat the interest on the debt, not to build roads or run the government. How was the government funded for the 200 years before income tax? Inflation is the hidden tax that devours your money. The American public is being deceived by the right and the left.
Arianna, Unfortunately it’s called the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. In 1913 the US Government ratified this amendment. Today only changes to the tax code are permitted unless there was a repeal of the 16th amendment. Politicians of either party would never repeal it becuase too much revenue is brought in with the 16th. We vote in our choices each election cycle so our only recourse is to contact our congress persons or senators. Some Tea Party candidates are in favor of repealing the 16th amendment in favor of a fair or flat tax.
Randy, you’re right on every point! I wish our Legislators knew the U. S. Constitution as well as you do!
Randy…Ayn Rand would be proud. What you say should be the common knowledge and understanding for everyone 14 and above…yet I would guess it is not understood by more than 10% of the population. People have no clue they are calling for a Communist state…yet if you tell them what they are advocating is Communism they would angrily deny it. Imagine what they wish for, a country where there is no incentive to create wealth because the samll-minded will confiscate it for themselves. They have no clue their lifestyle is the result of others creating wealth and providing them opportunities to share in it by provifing jobs, goods and services. Greed is someone thinking they are owed a welfare check for making bad decisions…service is someone who creates wealth because he can’t do it in a free society unless others benefit.
I know I’m late to respond to this but I can’t ignore it. The claim that “50% pay no taxes” is simply not true. Anyone who works pays Social Security and Medicare taxes and has income tax deducted from their paycheck based on projected annual income. In April, the poorest of us get refunds of the income tax they paid, but they don’t get the Medicare and SS taxes refunded. The unfairness comes because after the first $106,000 or so, SS tax is no longer deducted. And yet the richest Americans still get paid their Social Security checks at retirement, just like the ones who actually need it.
If you benefit from public roads, public safety, law and order, local fire departments, safe food, safe toys, safer cars, public education, public libraries, parks, clean water, cheap electricity, and everything else that is paid for by local, state and federal governments, then you are benefiting from tax money.
Wealth equals money spent plus money saved. When less than 1% of the people in this country are “saving” more than 40% of the nations wealth, it means that money is not being spent. You ask how many poor people are creating jobs. I ask, if low taxes means jobs, then where the hell are they? We have the lowest taxes in years, and high unemployment – not because people are lazy, but because there is no reason to hire people when no one is buying your product. Rich people didn’t get rich by hiring extra people to stand around doing nothing, just to be nice. They got rich – or their grandparents did – by creating products or services that other people bought. And if no one can afford to buy these products, they are much too smart to make more. Instead they will, as good capitalists, wait for demand to pick up.
Fair taxation is not about socialism. It’s about limiting savings that do nothing to stimulate the economy. It’s about oiling the machine. Because when individuals are too broke to buy products and services, the economy slowly grinds to a halt. If the government gets more tax revenue – and actually spends it, on infrastructure, or military, or education, or whatever – then that money gets back into circulation where it can do some good.
This is basic economics, not socialist propaganda. Go learn something, it might not hurt as much as you think.
Why should the rich not get SS when they too pay into it? Why should you be taxed above $106,000 for SS when you are paying 28% fed income tax; 6% state; 1.5 Medicare? How can you call that low taxation??? Half of Americans do not pay Fed income tax and half of them get a refund above what was paid! By the time you add tax refunds, food stamps, medicaid, college tuition, they are making more than those who are in the 28% income tax!
if the federal government was spending the tax dollars doing the things it claims it would (infrastructure, education, anything public service) than you would be right, except it doesn’t, that’s why it refuses to be audited.
Mary–Amen, amen, and amen.
You are so lost. The government has never successfully run a business and you want me to give them more money to create temporary jobs on the infastructure. You want the government who is flat broke to higher more people and think that is going to help and call it basic economics. This is sinking us even deeper. The government can take more and more and all it will do is make matters worse. Making government smaller and allowing capitalism to work is what makes us strong.
The other thing is that you took the statement of paying taxes out of context. They are speaking strickly to federal income tax. The conversation was not on SS or Medicare. Many people who pay in get more back than they pay in. How is that fair??
heah randy you know why 50 percent dont pay taxes ? I ll tell you 40% are children and the other 10 are billionairs
LOL, the “effort” or “talent”. so basically you’re saying you’re too lazy to be successful. Here I am working on my doctorate and taking out thousands of loans because of our education system that could care less about its next generation. I’d much rather have a society where people can actually afford to get an education without spending as much as buying a house like many other countries. We’re one of the “richest” and yet studies have shown our kids are the dumbest out of the industrialized nations. That’s what’s pathetic. People aren’t getting more stupid, they’re getting less education and even lesser quality. If it wasn’t for your called “socialism” you do realize there wouldn’t be any freeways, police, fire departments, public schools, etc. right? You’re already getting and you don’t even know it. They’d be even more privately owned and they could do whatever they wanted with no accountability even more than they already do. It’s bad enough our prison’s are privately owned and have many incentives for incarcerating small time offenders when there are a million other ways to handle such people.
The problem isn’t taxes, the problem is how it’s distributed.
Amen brother! but it doesn’t take talent to become wealthy, it takes developing certain skills in demand in the market place, and anyone can develop these skills if he/she chooses to
this was directed to Randy’s comment
I agree with you good man.
These idiots never heard of trickle down.
It’s a good thing that power and wealth is concentrated in the top elite, otherwise it would be too disperse to do any good other than consumption that is what stupid folk do best.
Elite know how to apply these funds so they reflect on the rest of society.
The reason USA is not thriving is because there is not enough wealth at the top.
Get it right scumbags.
This has nothing to do with socialism, you brainwashed fox puppet. Get your head out so it can clear up a little, you’ve been on a fox misinformation diet for too long.
I’m a recent college graduated with massive student loans, I found a pretty crappy job just to pay my bills and barley get by. 8 months later I landed an actual job I can see being a career making about $10,000 more than I was and my taxes jumped 10%. In order for my taxes to jump 10% again I would need to make $342,150 more a year. Its absurd.
So much for college – your post is riddled with typos and you have a bad attitude. Be happy you have a job & make the most of it. Opportunities are everywhere, but you must have the right attitude.
Lawyer must be old. Most blogs have typos because young people are on smart phones and tablets. And, you need more than a positive attitude. You need connections at the top. Probably how he got his corner office. Us poor, educated, young folks will keep struggling, thanks to the country you helped build. Appreciate you! And your bootstrap fallacy.
Wow, I so agree with this response to Lawyer421. They will never admit that half their successes was not by their hard work and determination, but who they knew. Nepotism at it’s best and socialism amongst the wealthy. What’s this crap now, be happy you have a job? Some of us are skilled and talented, maybe it should be, you be happy you have us working for you! What do you expect from someone who threaten their own comrades to keep them in line. We all know you have to have an uncle in the carpet business to get the best carpets at no cost. How about you Mr. Lawyer421 stop gouging the public with your excessive pay and make less of your income as a show of unity. Along with all the CEO’s, Wall streeters, professional athletes and movie stars,overpaid and arrogant. We hardworking Americans can put a stop to all this if we united and boycotted in large groups each faction listed above. I’m sure there are some well educated and experienced decent people out here willing to replace these jerks for less pay.
I’m a doctoral student and I know that I’m going to make money. Why shouldn’t I? I’m spending an extra 5 years in school plus post doctoral work at $30,000 a year for tuition. Are you going to pay back my loans that are going to cost more than your house? You think that I should make $50,000 a year (which is the national average)? I would probably die before I paid my loans off at that income. I didn’t get into a doctoral program because of someone ” I knew”. I got in because I graduated from undergrad with honors, had great internship experience that most masters level students don’t have and I had 3 great letters of recommendation from people I spent time cultivating relationships with. It’s not my fault I know how to build connections and work hard. You obviously have a lot of hatred for white collar America, probably stemming from jealousy. That’s really sad..it takes a lot more energy to hate. You put that out you get it in return.
And “Perm”, for your information studies have shown that the higher the degree the more left someone tends to vote. So if the more educated tend to vote more left on the political spectrum (you realize there’s a political SPECTRUM, right? Not just a couple of political groups.)then what does that say about people like you? HA! Do your own research and see for yourself.
Dude, you think you’ll have more opportunity in Russia, Venezuela, North Korea, France, Italy, Greece. The U.S. system is not perfect, especially since the feds keep pissing with it, but it’s better than 99% of the world and that seems to be what libs want. The power has you confused. They hate this country and want us to decline to become 3rd rate. Why else would they want to do again what made things worse. Remember GW was a socialist as well, so this isn’t about politics, “it’s Math.”
2+2 = 22 for a lot of dummies who do not know that they’re being overtaxed. Quit blaming it on Obama… Some of you know that he’s your saviour but too bad some do not along with the opposition governments who keep him from getting ahead….
Young people make typos because they are lazy, barley and barely takes just one moment to reread and correct. However, this is just a microcosm of the real problem, making excuses for someone who uses tools to correct things for them instead of understanding why, and taking the pride in creating something flawless. I’m barely 30, and work day in, day out to provide for a family and keep a steady paycheck. I don’t make a lot, but then again, I plan on staying with a company and working hard to educate myself and improve my standing in the company through hard work. America, it’s not just a dream but it is a goal that you acutally have to prepare and strive for. The moment that you forget that, is the eternity that the political machine takes the wheel of our collective destiny and sends our liberty careening off a cliff. Learn how to drive and don’t allow any organization to map out your destination.
I like most of what was said here. I’m not even 28 yet myself, almost 10 years toward my first pension, and currently lining myself up for another pension afterwards. I have a wife and three kids at home to support, and plenty of money in the bank. I work 60+ hours a week so my wife can stay home with my kids yet I still don’t bring home more than $40k annually after taxes, and I have to work HARD to make sure that I’m not replaced. I was once told that ‘you get out of this life what you put into it’ and I’ve taken that to heart. I’m not blaming anyone for any hardships or thanking anyone but myself and my wife for my success, and my parents for raising me right. I see so many people blaming the government, more often than not blaming Bush – which is funny, for their hardships. Our government is far from perfect but it’s far from the worst. I would like to point out one thing for you Blogstar. You attacked ‘lazy’ young people for making typos… yet if you pay close attention you left some typos yourself. I quote “America, it’s not just a dream but it is a goal that you acutally have to prepare and strive for.” I’m pretty sure that’s not the correct spelling of ‘actually’. I found that funny given how you started your post.
Yes Blogstar, young people make typos because they are lazy. So how come you spell the word acutally when it is supposed to be spelled actually. Guess your young and lazy too.
Leave it to the blood sucking lawyer to tell someone to suck-it up and make the best of it. Go troll somewhere else with your typos and attitude you smarmy prick!!!
Anonymous,
What degree did you graduate with? Please don’t tell me that you took out $120,000 in student loans to graduate with a degree in Graphic Design because you might as well have sawed your arm off. Did you attend two years at a Community College where tuition is typically 25-30% the cost of a University?
When entering new tax bracket please understand that the amount that put you into that new bracket is the portion that is being taxed at the higher percentage. I’m assuming you’re referring to the 15% to 25% jump. Continuing with that assumption then I would estimate your “crappy job” AGI to be approx. $35,000 per year (subtract 2010 single filing exemption of $5,700 and 2010 personal exemption of $3,650 equaling taxable income of $25,650) and now you’re making $45,000 per year (subtract 2011 single filing exemption of $5,800 and personal exemption of $3,700 equaling taxable income of $35,500).
If so, then the governement takes 15% of your $34,500 which is $5,175 and 25% of $1,000 which is $250 which totals to $5,425. The extra 10% bracket jump only costs you $250 in this example.
Additionally, if you thought that the new tax bracket meant that your entire yearly income was to be taxed at 25% then you are not alone. That is how I first interpreted the transition into a new bracket.
I understood how tax brackets worked the first time I looked at a tax table when I was a teenager….it ain’t that hard to understand folks. I’ll bet these people also think there is a Social Security trust fund.
Devil’s Advocate,
Thank you for explaining this. As I was following this blog I was getting irritated by people’s lack of understanding of the US tax system. It boggles me how people know so little about something that they must feel so strongly against. Read up on the subject before you talk about how much the government “takes” from you.
I was offered my first salaried position a few months ago. My offer was 35k which is very low in NYC especially for someone with an MA. The problem came with it landed me in a higher tax bracket, which is horrific since my rent alone is $1650 a month. To solve the problem I have taken a handful of “unpaid” days off and adjusted my pre-tax withholding to drop down to ~32k by the end of the year. So before all my glorious deductions (I am still a grad. student) I owe under 5k verses the 8.5k I would have paid. Use your college degree for something useful and make the loop-holes work for you… everyone else does!
Candace, you freaking putz. Re-read your spot in the tax bracket for $35K earned income:
“$4,750 plus 25% of excess over $34,500″
If you would have earned $35,000, you don’t pay 25% of the entire amount. You pay 15% of the first $34,500 ($4750), plus 25% of the additional $500 ($125).
Congratulations, you gave up a few thousand dollars in earnings to save a few hundred dollars in taxes. Brilliant.
I think the real tragedy is that you’re paying $1650 in rent. If you’re only making 35k why would you waste that much in rent? Obviously you’re living in Manhattan because I used to live there and you could easily live in outside boroughs for a lot less. That’s your choice to live there knowing you make 1/3 of what the average Manhattan income is.
ha ha ha….this is the funniest thing i read on the whole blog. Keep posting like this and you will make this world a better place to live. i guess i should give some credit to your education for giving you such sense of humor.
Please tell the truth, did you really post a joke? Its really brilliant.
The rates don’t jump 10% higher at $34,500. The amounts below $34,500 are taxed 10% LOWER to protect the lower wage earner from having to shoulder his full share of the burden, much as I don’t make my 12 year old son carry as much weight on our backpack trips. If the lower wage earner were not given this 10% (and 15%) drop (charity) he would be overwhelmed as he has very limited wiggle room in his budget. It takes between 21 and 25% of the nation’s income to pay for the things we are demanding, actually more if we continue the recent increases in spending. Rather than make all, including those making small incomes, pay equally at 21%, our system shifts more of the burden to those making more. It holds off on those with lower incomes as protection and only starts adding to their burden when they are big enough to carry it. So, the 10% “jump” spoken of is actually a case of complaining about a compasionate, charitable act. Shape up. Get a better attitude and see the truth. Be proud to do some part, to carry some weight. Or, we could just set a single, 25% rate on all income over, say, $40,000 (family of four), eliminate 99% of the IRS and accounting industry (and costs to productivity – I spend $800 on tax prep for a $45K income -that is taxing too) with such a simple system and be done with it. THAT or something very similar would be FAIR.
I’m confused. Are you really comparing people who make lower wages to children who are being supported by their parents? These are people who made the choice to care for a life INCAPABLE of taking care of itself.
I agree with fractions of what everybody is stating as our countries problems. My wife is a registered nurse and I’m a Union Carpenter, middle-class to say the least. We are both college grads with student loans, kids, house, cars, the whole nine-yards.
What I would like to know is how it’s OK to take our money and give it to people who don’t work? My wife goes to work and has to take care of people on medicaid who are coming off drug overdoses, pill seeking, whatever the case may be on a nightly basis. So often that everyone at her hospital knows certain people, because they come in trying to get pills or whatever it is they frequent her hospital for. I am in the field of construction so I run into a lot of people who don’t get married so they can have their wife sit at home while and get free healthcare, groceries, baby/child care products, etc. etc., it’s absolutely ridiculous.
At our first house right out of college we lived in a lower-mid class neighborhood and this is when I found out how bad it really was. The woman next door would sit at home all day while her boyfriend of 9 years went to work. They were the absolute definition of taking advantage of the system. She would get free groceries weekly. They had a child and didn’t have to pay anything, and my least expensive child cost us 6K after insurance. She would go to the doctor to get pills and sell them, so often doctors would refuse to see her so it was off to the next one. I could go on for days and days just about them.
I just don’t understand how people can be allowed to do this if you are an able bodied individual with no attempt at getting employment, it’s a joke. People sit around having kids, not getting married, whatever it is so they can reap the free benefits, meanwhile I’m paying 800 a week to ensure that this keeps happening. Something needs to happen about the criteria to be eligible for assistance, or harsh punishments need to be enforced. The way I see it is if you can’t financially support a child then don’t have a child, why should I pay for it with taxes? It doesn’t make sense how people who contribute nothing are the individuals awarded. I don’t care if you make 20K a year or 20 million your tax money is still going to someone who has made 0 and paid 0. People go to work at McDonald’s and make less money than these people are awarded. Tell me what’s right about this.
I agree, I don’t like free loaders either, but that’s us comparing apples to oranges. Reform should be in place to eliminate fraudulent behaviors, but believe me it’s the overpaid politicians and executives that cause me pause. I agree they should be paid well, but come on there is no one person worthy of this salary gouging we have allowed in this country. CEO’s ($2M – $18M annually), professional athletes and movie star ($6M – $15M annually or per movie). This is sickening. There used to be a time a regular family could afford movie tickets, concert admissions or Broadway shows, guess what only the youth of our elaborate affluent can participate now. I say boycott them all and we sit back and watch the prices decrease for the average family to come out and spend their dollars. Too many want too much right now and nobody is investing anything back into the economy to sustain us anymore.
What are you talking about…the “country” doesn’t pay CEO’s or Athletes…the free market pays them. If you don’t like a football player making $10 MM per year then don’t support football…dont’ go to games, dont’ buy merchandise and don’t watch it on TV. Who are you to tell an athlete what he should make? If you don’t like a CEO making $10 M per year then don’t buy products from his company. It’s a free country until peopel like you destory it with yoru petty envy. You obviously do not create any wealth of your own or you would understand this.
So where does the “free market” get it’s money? the people of the “country” of the United States.
My thoughts exactly, Will. I wouldn’t have a problem with my tax money going to entitlement programs if I knew it wasn’t going to the type of people that you mentioned in your post.
I completely agree. All federal funding should require drug tests. The money saved by not paying people who can’t pass would pay for the drug tests and their administration. Honestly I think it’s a job many people would volunteer to support. If you’re caught doing something illegal that could have been supported by federal money, you are not allowed to receive support again until certain requirements have been met. There are stipulations that could be put in place to prevent abuse of federal money that does not violate rights.
Do you think it’s fair that insurance companies give full fledged medical exams to potential qualifiers? They use those exams to figure out if they’ll make money off of you or loose money. If they’ll loose money well your premium’s just skyrocketed or you’ve been denied. Do you think all people should have the right to eat and have a roof over their heads? You people act as if people on welfare are living the life. They live in lower income areas which means their children are getting shitty eduction, often live in areas with high rates of violence (majority seeing 5 or more instances of violence which makes it harder for their social skills to develop because it starts to rewire into survival skills, causing high rates of anxiety and illness) which only perpetuates the problem. Lets see, would it be more efficient to: work at McDonalds for the same amount a month you could get on welfare or stay on welfare where you don’t have to work in a disgusting environment? I’m 25 and always lived in wealthy areas growing up as well as overseas and I’m quite thankful. Almost 95% of my high school goes on to a 4 year degree or higher and 99% graduate HS. There’s a reason why lower income areas have lower HS and college graduate rates. Almost everyone I know has at least their bachelors by now if not their masters or working on their doctorate and are successful just like our parents. I have a couple friends I met when I was younger that come from working class areas and none have a college degree and two are already divorced single moms. Seems like the cycle isn’t stopping anytime soon.
I agree with most of your post, that the cycle never seems to stop, however, I don’t agree that its better or the same to sit at home and collect benefits of ANY kind when someone is well able to work. A job at McDonald’s will at least teach responsibility, customer service, how to manage money, etc. From there, you can move up and learn more skills that can be transferred to another job. At least TRY to be a productive human being and not a parasite! It’s called being raised right with responsibility. The entitlement system was supposed to be a safety net, NOT a catch all for lazy people. I for one am sick of supporting this type of scum.
We need to drug test congress also..They have got to be on drugs .
i couldnt agree more . Anyone receiving assistance from any government agency ,should be expected to pass a RANDOM drug test. It cant be scheduled because there are too many ways to study for those tests. Further more i dont think that a 10% jump is fair when the other brackets dont jump at the same rate make each bracket jump 5% keep it simple .
Look at all these crazy rants! I just wanted to ask why the table don’t show the rates for people who are self-employed (a type of employment that is increasing). I found the info elsewhere, just seems like an oversight.
I’m more offended that the table doesn’t show the deeply, deeply discounted rates for dividends and capital gains. If you don’t work, but instead collect money from stock market gambling, you pay MUCH MUCH lower rates than this.
Short term capital gains is taxed at your marginal rate, long term capital gains (which you get after holding a stock over a year) is lower – 15%, 10%, or 0%. I don’t think it’s fair to call it gambling if you hold a stock for a year.
Jim, google the 60/40 rule. This is the space most short term traders play in.
But that money has already been taxed as Earned Income before you could invest it. Then, corporate taxes(amongst the highest in the world) cut into a company’s profits and therefor returns on investments. If we could stick to the constitution, stop giving people and corporations handouts, end pensions for anyone in the fed who’s NOT putting their life on the the line, and end ridiculous wars and resort to only protecting ourselves instead of preemptive strikes(like every conflict since WWII sans Afghanistan, which we should leave NOW) we probably wouldn’t be in this mess.
Exactly. The money I earned has ALREADY been taxed. I’m saving it up, building up a long term stock portfolio–instead of whining about people and their dividends being taxed at a lower rate, they should try saving some money and benefit from it.
money you’re investing isn’t being taxed twice. It’s the profit you make from that investment, the same way that people of lesser means are taxed on their bank interest. It should be pointed out that those lesser people’s interest is taxed at a higher rate than your stock market capital gain.
“I completley[completely] agree with the comment above. It is that kind of greed from the wealthy and powerful that is bleeding our nation dry!” -Lee
Do you even know what you are talking about? How is the wealth and powerful that are bleeding our nation dry?
The GOVERNMENT is “bleeding our nation dry!” I ask you to research the devaluation of the dollar, ever since the inception of Social Security and the inception of The Federal Reserve. You know what the crazy thing is American corporations can and do pay up to the HIGHEST CORPORATE MARGINAL TAX RATES IN THE WORLD!(except for the dictatorial country of Guyana)
Depending on their marginal corporate tax bracket a corporations can pay 0-35% Federal tax rates NOT INCLUDING STATE CORPORATE TAXES!
So do we not pay enough? Is the big bad evil wealthy who employ people like yourself and I, that are killing this nation? Or is it a country we live in where 33% of the individual income is dependent on the Federal Government? That figure is includes: Government employees, military and welfare recipients. 33-F***ING-PERCENT! And is it any wonder why the nation can’t keep a balanced budget? EVEN IF YOU TAXED EVERYONE AT A 100% TAX RATE, YOU COULDN’T PAY THE NATIONS DEBT OFF!
(MONOPOLIES ONLY EXIST BECAUSE OF GOVERNMENT SPONSORSHIP-Which is a form of Corporate Welfare)(True monopolies have NEVER existed in a free market)
Raising the individual and corporate marginal tax rates will not fix this problem we face.
**On a side note, I look forward to China owning us, at least they know how to pay their bills!
How to fix the problems we have?
-End social security or privatize it to become self-directed
-Stop nation building/policing the world!
-Get rid of the embassy’s and influencing world politics, which in turn incites hatred!
-Quit giving foreign aid to other nations!
-Reduce the people on welfare!
-Quit taxing the middle class and corporations so high
-End the POINTLESS War on Drugs
-Quit bailing out corporations who F***ED UP! Let them liquidate just like any other business who failed, that’s called corporate welfare!
-Quit regulating: Doctors, Insurance, manufacturing
-Hold prosecutors on the Federal Circuit courts to the same standard defense attorneys are held to!
-Quit printing fiat currency, go back to a gold standard
-Let markets correct themselves
And a quote I always end a post on..
“All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration – that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There’s no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we’re the imagination of ourselves.” -Bill Hicks
Quite possibly the most ignorant post I’ve read yet. All those things that you want to quit were put into place because people like you cried because the old way was injust.
get over it.
Privatize Social Security? into what? Letting people put their social security money into stocks, etc.? Pardon me, but isn’t putting Social Security Insurance(the actual long name) into stocks putting it in the very thing you’re insuring against?
Do you know where you and I are putting our social security money now? If you did, you’d go jump off a freekin bridge.
Anyone who thinks that the government/ a government knows better than a business or corporation what to do with our (yes our, all of us) money is missing the boat on the true american dream. Free Markets power FREEDOM!
If you disagree with this then go live in a third world country because that is where you are driving this one to, looney.
What I want to know is why am I being discriminated against for being single? If I was married I’d be paying almost 3K less in taxes!!! DAMMIT! I’m sick of subsidizing you nuclear families! Why do I have to pay more? I use LESS government services than the average 4 person family. I should get to pay less!!
wrong, lost out on 2300 since I’ve been married, student loan interest deductions don’t change. suck on that
I can agree with many well articulated points in many comments above, and I always find it ironic how some groups are experts using “tax rates” but never complete the exercise of adding actual numbers up to put figures in the right perspective.
Now, about the people who abuse the system… I am afraid that is something we’ll have to learn to live with. I say that because the cost of policing, bringing to justice and keeping them in jail is probably much higher than just letting them do their thing…
“CEO’s ($2M – $18M annually), professional athletes and movie star ($6M – $15M annually or per movie). This is sickening. ”
This sounds unfair but it’s not really that bad if you think about it… this is the free market at work. They are getting paid so much only because people are WILLING to pay them that much. If you’ve ever went to a sports game, to the theaters, or bought an Apple product, then you’ve indirectly contributed to their salaries. Just Supply and Demand.
For athletes, it’s the free market. But if you think CEOs compete in a free market, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you. CEOs pretty much literally write their own salaries, with rubberstamp Boards of Directors who can’t be thrown out even when stockholders really want to, thanks to corrupt SEC rules.
Also, the tax rates in this article are only for *earned* income. For people who simply rake in money because they were already rich — dividends and capital gains — the Bush/Obama tax cuts replace the 10% and 15% brackets with a 0% bracket and replace everything above that with a 15% bracket.
Now that’s obscene. Trust fund babies pay lower rates than working people. (CEOs usually arrange to get most of their money in forms which qualify for the trust-fund-baby rates, as well.)
Your wrong on Athletes being in a free market, the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc are all taxpayer subsidized. Most stadiums are paid by taxpayer funds and are updated and maintained and provided electricty, water, etc. by taxpayer funds. That is coporate welfare.
Example – Indianapolis pays an extra 1% sales tax on anything bought (2% if at a restaraunt) that goes directly for the Colts
The mayor also approved 35 million dollars extra to give the Pacers because they said, “Our profits are not as high as we anticipated”
All you people who say the middle class gets taxed to much and the rich people don’t get taxed enough are crazy. The top 1% earners in the US account for like 95% of taxes. That means the bottom 99% or all of America only account for around 5% of all taxes collected. So stop your whining or move to Canada or England and be equal and pay 50% taxes.
LOL. Wrong John. Might want to look up facts. Simply because you state statistics doesn’t make them correct.
Correct statistics
top 1% of all “earners” account for over 20% of income.
top 20% of earners account for over 60% of paid taxes
top 10% of PEOPLE(not earners) account for over 70% of the wealth
Probably want to read up a little bit: http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
The tax structure is definitely broken. I agree that the rich should pay there fair share. I you leave the tax bracket just where it is and take away all the deductions, that would go a long way. Why should an apartment dweller help pay for my mortgage, ie. my mortgage interest deduction; While I am not helping him pay for his other bank loan, ie. car note?
Just for starters, most of the government welfare are to corporations. The money given to the oil industry for instance would probably cover a good part of the federal government’s part of medicaid. Oh! by the way, the rich does not create any job. The middle class and the poor people do. Without customers, ther is no job. If there are customers, the businesses would definitely hire more workers to keep up with the orders. That goes for ANY business. The media has everyone buying into this stupid idea the the idiot republicans have been saying for years that the businesses creates jobs just like the stupid idea of trickle down economics. Yet, most idiot republican barkers are as poor as ‘Joe the Plumber,’ not knowing that he would be trickled down on for the rest of his life, in the same sorry position for a long time; if not forever.
By the way, the government has social welfare jobs that they SHOULD do. The roads and bridges, instead of having corporations buid them and put toll road literally everywhere. UNIVERSAL healthcare. Trully universal. If you watched the second Republican Debates, you’d see exactly how evil these people are. Even a doctor like Ron Paul would rather have someone die at scene of an accident if the person has no money or insurance. The other doctor, in the Senate, Tom Coburn said as much earlier. That is shocking.
We are trying to bring democracy to other parts of the world while we are trying to switch positions with them if yo look at what the Republican Legistatures and Governors are doing across the country:
Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, etc Restricting Voter Registration and early voting—to suppress votes.
Nebraska and Penn—-Changing how their states allocate Electoral Votes in Presidential Elections.
Ohio, Wis, etc—-supressing votes in the guise of Union Bursting (ballancing burget my BUTT).
I can go on and on. After you look at some of these, USA looks worse than most THIRD world countries DEMOCRATICALLY.
I’ll make it brief. THINK! Stop following like a sheap!
Can you lie any more? Seriously, the poor and middle class don’t buy jets, yachts, buildings, and such. Rich people do. They buy them from other rich people who have middle class people provide the unskilled/semi-skilled and skilled labor and then they buy stuff and better you get the more you make and if you take care of yourself you could start your own business and build it up so you become a rich man. Btw, the gov. only pays about 20 cents on the dollar for medicare/medicaid bills. that’s why the rest of our rates go up as well as people taking advantage of free care programs and people not paying their bills and waiting til they can’t be collected anymore(don’t doubt me on that one, insider info first hand) and the NLRB could let Boeing open that plant in SC but they have to protect the union, so that screws about 1700 people. Liars burn in hell you know and I don’t even know if I believe in Hell.
My daughter was giver a $1000.00 bonus incentive with her new job. Although she is grateful for her new job;she was taxed nearly 40% of that $1000.00 she came hame with $632.00. Why was she taxed so high? Any answers out there.
the way I understand it (and I am no tax expert) is that the IRS does consider actual salary. For example, say someone received a signing bonus of $3000. They are on a 2-week pay period and their normally 2-week pay is $3000. So, for that one pay period, they made $6000. Since the IRS does not consider actual salary, they assume this person would make this every paycheck and their salary would be $156000 ($6000 x 26) for that check. This would have put the tax rate for that paycheck in the 28% bracket for that check. Normally, they would be in the 25% bracket as the yearly salary would be $3000 x 26 = $78000. Any additional (unnecessary) taxes that may have been paid in can be reclaimed when filing in the spring.
Basically correct. Your daughter will most likely get a larger refund at the end of the tax year, as she will have been overtaxed on that signing bonus.
Same thing happened to me recently but in reverse – I got overtaxed on a severance package when I was laid off in June. Believe me, it’s better to be overtaxed on a signing bonus. At least she’s getting a paycheck afterwards.
Bonuses are taxed at much higher rate than normal income. That’s why you will see nearly a 40% tax rate on “incentives” like that.
Looks like it is about time for the bottom percentages to start paying “their fair share”…
WOW!
I’ve heard it all before and it sounds like some people have really done some research. I get really tired of people bashing FOX News. You know as far as Fox is to the right everyone else is to the left. Have to watch both sides and maybe get the whole story”MAYBE”.
As far as taxes the top 25% pay 80+% of the taxes. I hate to hear all this hatred towards the rich. I’m a fed employee who only works 9 months of the year and am not rich. If you want to take advantage of the lower tax rates for the rich then make more money. If you can do your taxes right you can pay less to. I have a family and beleive it or not I usually get back more that I pay in. I know it sounds rediculous but it is more common than you think. The only way to make it fair would be to get rid of all deductions and go with the fair tax. A percentage taken from all that is the same from top to bottom. This would be collected after you have made enough to pass the national poverty rate for your cicumstance.
When talking about trust funders and paying only 15% on captital gains that is absurd. Capitol gains is exactly that. You pay taxes on the gaines your money makes. You have already paid income taxes on the base so why pay it again. In fact the capitol gaines is a second tax.
I don’t know all or have all the answers as none of you do. Stop blaming and start pressing for the fixes. Don’t get hung up on party or how much money one makes. You should only impose on others what you are willing to accept yourself. No one person or groups of people should be exept because of who they are or how much they make. We have the opportunity to make oursleves into who we want to be and how we want to live. Take control of your own destiny.
Seriously, If you can’t see that the markets and free enterprise have been hijacked by a hybrid multi-national corporation and central bank duopoly funded by the IRS you deserve the future. Don’t think it was some grand conspiracy but rather something that just evolved. It will collapse, as all others in history as it slowly excludes more of the population. You are more likely to be sued or legislated out of business for innovation. Can’t last.
what is this nonsense about the rich being the job creators? Are the rich going out and starting gm sized companies?TAX Breaks don’t stimulate job creation. entrepreneurs who have a vision about building a better mousetrap come from MIDDLE-CLASS individuals who, after working for or with others strike out on their own. these business are usually financed by SBA, and private bank loans.You build a strong middle class out of the working class. these damn idiots who still insist trickle down economics work are delusional.trickle down just means your getting pissed on from above. HISTORY PROVES THAT. Today, most Americans think government regulation destroyed the economy. They even believe that the plutocrats who destroyed this regulatory infrastructure — the most successful wealth-generating machine in the world’s history — are the “job creators” and the source of the formerly shared prosperity that is now disappearing into the coffers of the few from the wallets of the many.
Yes Michael, and then that guy who invented the better mousetrap grows his company (likely funded by rich investors or bankers and not the SBA). At that point he becomes wealthy himself. Maybe he expands the company, develops more lines, builds a new factory and hires more people. This he couldn’t have done when he was a heroic middle class martyr.
Now he immediately becomes evil (in the eyes of many of these bloggers) and begins his vendetta against the poor and disadvantaged who obviously have rich people preventing them from creating an even better mousetrap.
Personally, I started out of high school, yes I actually put the effort into finishing despite mediocre grades and having parents who did not show much interest. I got a low paying job as a filing clerk making $8.25 per hour while I went to community college. That degree earned me a slightly better paying job making $10.50 while I worked on my bachelors degree part-time. That earned me a much better paying job making $18 and I began to work on a masters degree part-time.
I helped work my way through college by also joining my state National Guard, deploying once to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, which is why it took me 13 years to finish college. I do have student loan debt but realize that is the cost of increasing my value in the eyes of the job market.
I went from $16,400 per year to $64,000 per year in approximately 13 years. And nobody other than I can take the blame or credit for what I have accomplished. I don’t mind being middle class and definitely don’t blame rich people for my difficulties.
Not really sure if I understand all this correctly, I’m only 14 but taxes is what we are going over in class. What I don’t understand, is why pay taxes, if we get money back from tax returns. I think that’s how it works, right? Everyone has to file taxes by a certain date every year, I see my mom do it. My older sister has to pay for lunch because they said my parents make over the limit it is for a student to get free lunch, I dont get it. Government is weird.
The discussion has primarily focus on income taxes, and a little on employment taxes and taxes on investment income. There are tons of more taxes, and what seems to be rarely done is focus on what, when put together, they come to.
Our 2010 adjusted grose income was about 182,000, which is basically the raw dollars coming into the household from all sources. We are two professionals (one of us is self employed, the other works for a corporation)with three children. I have tracked every expenditure, and I have calculated every tax I can. Adding up income taxes, employment taxes, state and federal unemployment tax, real property taxes, sales tax, liquor taxes, gasoline taxes, taxes on utilities, tolls and various government taxes that masquarade as fees, for the 2010 year of every gross dollar coming in to the household, 42.7 cents was used to pay one form of that or another. I did that same exercise for 2009, which was a better year for us, and 49.3 cents of every gross dollar went to pay some sort of tax.
I consider us upper middle class, comfortable, but not rich. Our state just increased our income tax rate (essentially a flat tax state) from 3% to 5%, virtually every utility bill has had the taxes increase in 2011, higher fees are being charged for license plates and just about everything else, many of the towns around us have increased their portion of the sales tax, and soon we’ll see a 75% increase in toll road tolls. Our home value dropped by at least 30%, yet our actual property tax bill has gone up. Tuition has jumped about 22% over the course of our eldest daughter’s undergraduate stint, and our retirement portfolios (to which we regularly contribute the maximun allowed) are worth less today than they were in 2008. Other than a home equity line tapped for education expenses, we have no debt, and throughout our entire adult lives, have probably paid less than $100 total in credit card interest.
By pretty much anyone’s measurement, we have done the “right” things, avoided stupid mistakes, have lived within our means, and have both worked from an early age, got good educations, and raised our family well.
Just how much more in taxes does government (collectively speaking) want to take from us? And, despite my own personal dislike of how much we pay in taxes already, and how dumb and inefficient government is with spending tax money, what really pains me the most is that I highly doubt that our children, who are following in our footsteps, know what it means to work, know the value of an education, stand next to a snowball’s chance in hell when it comes to achieving our lifestyle. If this is what is happening to a family like us, just think of what the future holds for those not as fortunate as we have been. This country is destroying the middle class, and we will be a society of poor, and very wealthy (a gap that has been growing in the past decades and is accelerating since the great recession started (it hasn’t ended), in a generation or two if serious and fundamental changes are not implimented soon. America was great once, and it was the land of opportunity for those who put the effort into it – that, I truly fear is history. And that is really sad.
So true. The government is terrible with money.
I have to agree…it really is sad, and very scary too. I feel for the generations to come.
Who is John Galt?
yes, the constitution guarantees equal opportunity
but unfortunately – it is just a piece of paper. No one makes sure that the constitution is enforced. when you find a way to make education equal across the country then i can see people screaming about the govt caring for some of it’s citizens – especially since it is from these families that we will call from when we need to fight to protect our liberties. the fact that the poor pays no or very low taxes is okay to me given i can count on them dying for this country.
you wanna see more taxes and redistribution of wealth – look at your land line phone bill, cell phone bill, broadband bill.
Here is an idea!
Sources: Consumer Expenditure Survey / US Dept. of Labor / US Bureau of Labor Statistics / 2011IRS Tax Code
*** Practical explanation for how the Herman Cain 999 plan will HELP not burden lower & middle income families. If you understand this well you will be able to explain it to people when they say that his plan creates extra burden on the poor. That’s just not true. I am using an example of how this plan will affect a family with an annual gross income of $29,000 but it will apply in other amounts as well in the same ratios.
Under the Current Tax Plan:
If the total yearly income = $29,000 GROSS INCOME
Federal income tax is currently 15.3% on gross income in this tax bracket = $4,437 per year. This makes the net income = 24,563 in actual yearly income. (net income)
**When the 9-9-9 plan goes into affect it will bring that tax rate down to 9% and introduce a 9% federal sales tax. That is 9% on Gross Income and 9% Sales tax. That IS NOT 18% tax on gross income!!**
Under the 9-9-9 plan:
Total yearly income = $29,000 GROSS INCOME
Federal Income tax would be 9% on gross income in this tax bracket = $2,610 per year. Net Income = $26,390 ($1827 more in pocket per year)
Out of $26,390 of net income, a family normally spends 32% of that income on items that are charged with sales tax.
$26,390 X 32% = $8,445
The family spends about $8450 a year on (food, entertainment, apparel and services/taxable items)
$8450 x 9% new federal sales tax = $760.50 due per year from this family for the federal sales tax.
This family saved $1,827 off their yearly tax rate and will pay $760.50 for the new federal sales tax rate.
They now have $1066.50 extra spending money a year permanently in their income to spend as they need. A great stimulus that doesn’t end!
((This is the flat tax that eventually opens the door to a fair tax which would eventually eliminate income taxes all together. We can’t just go to the fair tax right away (unfortunately) because we need to pay down over $14 trillion in debt so we go to it in two phases. The 999 plan is set up into these two phases.))
This plan also retains the amount of income needed to pay down our current national debt, ends loop holes in a tax code that is currently broken and immediately saves America $430 billion dollars in dead-weight burden on the economy due to compliance, enforcement, collection. It creates certainty in the market place which is key for business growth (creating jobs) and makes taxes fair for everyone based on their own income.
**Current deductions received by lower income families (child deductions tax credit, earned income credit, charitable donations credits) will still exist for lower income families; they will fall in an income zone called the Empowerment Zones, and they will be able to keep their deductions.**
Sources: Consumer Expenditure Survey / US Dept. of Labor / US Bureau of Labor Statistics / 2011IRS Tax Code
How much tax do i have to pay in simple terms on my unemployment, and my Army retirement?
People complain about how taxing is not “fair” and that the rich need to pay more because they make more. However, what most people seem to forget is that when taxing is done by percentage of income then one flat tax rate it “fair” why should one group have to give a different percentage of their income. It makes no sense. People need to stop complaining about the rich and start working. One person’s failure is not the result of another’s success.
Why different %?
That’s pretty easy answer even a monkey like I can give.
(A) makes $1000000 (1 million) and is taxed 90% gets to keep $100000.
(B) makes $10000 (10k) and is taxed 90% gets to keep $1000.
So, A = $8333 per month
B = 83$ per month
A can live comfortably, B is eating out of trash cans.
Therefore, different % is more “fair”.
I guess that’s the reasoning but in my monkey world we don’t really give a crap about such things as morals, values, or ethics.
Well I think Obama needs to come on down to my house a get him a big time ass woopin
Taxes and everything else in this universe fall under three universal laws of thermodynamics. According to second law of thermodynamics: Entropy is greater than the universe. Entropy is “law of disorder.” Since disorder is greater than the universe, it’s also greater than all of our systems (including government system). For example: every dollar goes into tax, less than 50 cents (I’m guessing this number; it could be higher or lower if we audit the Feds for the actual number) will actually come out towards the benefits. Every system has its imperfection, but it can be improves. We can could never get 100% perfect system, but we could try to get around 80%-90% if we cut out all the middle men or the Feds. We need taxes for social services, but we need to find the equilibrium point between paying too much taxes and inequalities.
Some wealthy people do create jobs through their industry and ingenuity and deserve personal credit for it and even tax breaks. Others just happen to have a lot of money thanks to the industry and ingenuity of someone else. Perhaps they create jobs by investing and spending their wealth, but they don’t deserve any personal credit for that. I think I could spend and invest their money just as well if not better;)
I have been a teacher since 1975 and now can’t even afford to retire because the taxes would kill me. What a country.
wow….so much hatred. Perhaps we should all just agree to disagree. Being hateful one american to another isn’t going to solve this nations disastrous economic condition. The condition of our country didn’t get this way overnight and it won’t change overnight but I think we all would have to agree that some changes are in order. Truth of the matter, it doesn’t matter whether you are republican or democrat, or for that matter an independent. Until everyone starts working for the common good of this nation and not the common good of political party, nothing is going to change. I hope you all have a great day. Take care.
How can the government take 45% in taxes on 25 hours of overtime pay? This would warrant jail time in any other scenario.
What the F is the point of working hard in this country? And all these companies downsizing leaving employees no choice…
American dream my A#%
The tax brackets may be fair if people actually paid their percentages! I can not tell you how many people I know in the uppper tax brackets who brag about all the things they lie and cheat about on their taxes so they do not have to pay these percentages. The tax laws are ridiculous!
They get tax breaks for doing things the government deems beneficial to society. The best example is the guy who owns a business. He gets tax breaks for hiring employees, buying equipment, etc. The net effect is that he now pays wages to all his employees and the other businesses get his money when he buys things. More money is spread around. If he was taxed higher, he would have less to spend and you wouldn’t have a job at his small factory because he couldn’t afford you.
So, what’s the “correct” government look like? How’s the “best” government organized?
These topics will always be debated, which is why America is so great (ah, freedom). If you disagree that America is great, no one is stopping you from moving to another country. One great aspect of American citizenship is our international privileges (mostly due to our significant charitable contributions to other countries).
If you are of the mindset that income should be limited or taxes should be increased or government spending should be increased to help resolve the current situation, then you need to re-think your way of life in America. There are many countries with higher income tax rates and more government programs (see: the entire Euro-zone). You will see more evenly distributed wealth in these countries. You will also see, generally speaking, an apathetic population with an “easy” lifestyle. I’m not debating whether that is right or wrong; it’s just not America. America is the dream. If you kill that dream, you’ll kill America. Escalating taxes will kill this dream. Talk with Americans who helped build this country (not me, I’m 30). Most will tell you that hard work built this country, not social entitlement programs.
Also, please don’t tell me that you don’t have the “opportunities” to be successful. My wife was born and raised in Russia. She learned to speak English, working very hard in teens and 20s through her own dedication. She moved here on a student visa and worked to get a 4.0 GPA for her bachelors (note: English is her second language). She is now in dental school and will graduate with massive school loan debt. Let me tell you — she wont’ complain about how unfair college tuition is or how dentists from 3 years ago started with higher salaries. She will work HARDER than the rest to become successful. She feels lucky to have the opportunity to build a great life with all the freedoms associated with America. If America moves from a great nation to play second fiddle to China or India over the next 30 years, then it will be because our citizen base has become lazy, entitled and over-privileged.
America does not need higher taxes. The beauty of America is in the power of the individual. If you believe that the government knows how to spend your hard earn money better than you, then you should look live somewhere else…
lock and load get ready its not far away
Sadly we are failing to except the enormity of our debt; give up illusions of containment. The national debt is at $14.5 trillion, but the real debt is the $211 trillion in unfunded liabilities. Let’s try to bring into reasoning a number like a trillion in a way we might grasp… a million seconds is roughly 12 days, a billion seconds is 32 years, and a trillion seconds is 32,000 years… a million inches is 15.7 miles, a billion inches is 15,728.2 miles, and a trillion inches is over 15 and a half million miles (that’s like going to the moon and back 33 times). The hardest fact of all is that no matter what the outcome, it is unlikely you can ever again be the person you have been until now…
Dave:
If you’re not going to stand behind your Countries Military … feel free to stand in front of them.
You are bashing a EXTREMELY important branch. It’s also called “Fighting for YOUR freedom”.
Well, if you’re getting paid to “fight for my freedom” I suggest you do your job and shut your mouth.
JP, i make abt 46gram, i do not know how much i will get back if claim my daughter. This tax thing is overwhelmming. Does one knows about how it works?
The Answer to all these contries falling into debt
is really very simple, Its right in front of there eyes, they just need to do it if all the countries
the deal with currency just wipe out there debt all together and everyone in the world start from scratch all money would be worth the same value as it was 25 years ago or 15 years ago, just wipe the debt it never happend everyone wins, the rich,poor ,and wealthy, and all the citizens keep the funds they have,people need to quit wanting to get rich, and need to just be wealthy, see when more and more people get rich, they want more and more money, which in turn breaks everyone else and really plunges the econo, why cant everyone just live based off what they need, not what they want!!!!!!!!